Sylvia The Sylveon
by Julia Lucrezia Hanazono
Summary: When an Eevee is forcibly separated from her family, she goes on a long journey through Unova to return to the only home she knows. But the journey is rough, even tragic, as she is continually rejected wherever she goes. Why? She is the second Sylveon born in the whole entire world, and she doesn't know how she evolved into this strange new creature.
1. Eight Little Eevees

Author's Note:

Chapter 1: Eight Little Eevees

Eevee are a very rare and special species of Pokemon. Eevee are rare because they are not seen often, especially females, and especially in a cosmopolitan region like Unova, the region I was born in, and special because they can evolve into different kinds of Pokemon, mostly different types, depending on the situation, timing, and the items we receive. Our DNA composition is very chaotic and irregular. We can evolve depending on the environment and into different type classifications as a result. Eevee are a Pokemon species that are still surrounded by mystery, even to this day. I have always heard these words from the humans who come to visit the ranch. I've heard them for as long as I could possibly remember. I never understood why we were so strange, so special, so mysterious. I had never thought much of it until later in life, even though we were always surrounded by these words.

My older siblings say I both have a good memory and am very forgetful. But how can someone have a good memory and be forgetful at the same time? It doesn't make any sense! But anyway, my earliest memory is playing in a vast, green field held in by a rusty wooden fence with my seven siblings. The purple lavenders and lilies were sprouting all over the place, creating a huge, beautiful field of nothing but purple. Purple, purple, purple! That was all we could see on the ranch. Me, my siblings, and the Pokemon from the ranch played in those fields like no tomorrow. I loved playing in this field, from what they've told me. I loved looking at the purple flowers and staring at them and watching the Beautifly and Butterfree suck the nectar out of them. But I also felt bad for the flowers as some of the other Pokemon, like the Mareep and Flaaffy, would eat them. I know most Pokemon eat grass, but these flowers were so pretty, so sweet, so serene, and so nice-looking...why would some Pokemon eat such innocent flowers? They didn't do anything wrong. My siblings often chastised me for having such silly notions, but I don't think they're silly at all. Everyone has their preferences, don't they?

The ranch my family and I live on is what the humans call Floccesy Ranch. It's owned by a man, a woman, and their three children, and they're well known around Floccesy Town for being very kind and generous to both people and Pokemon. They're right. They're very nice and sweet, and I really like them. Two of my brothers don't, though. They live in a big beige house with a pale purple roof and lots of other things on it. There's also a red barn where we live, and it's full of Ponyta and hay stacks. There's also a little white house-that's what I think it is but I could be wrong-that has lots of Pokemon eggs in it. From what Mother and Father told me, that's where me and my siblings came from. Their daughter, I heard her name is Serena, isn't like other human kids. I heard her parents, I heard their names are Darien and Vicky, say that she has something called Autism, and it prevents her from being able to communicate and socialize very well, from what I've heard. Mother thinks it means she sees and experiences the world in a different way than most humans.

I have to agree, though I think Serena is a bit strange. She flaps her hands, rocks back and forth, yells when something isn't right, and doesn't talk much, even though she's only eight years old. Serena has short, pale blonde hair and pretty green eyes, and has a sprinkle of freckles going across her nose. She's very shy and doesn't like talking to people. She likes talking to Pokemon though. Her best friend is a Deerling she named Bambi, who is also my best friend. Like her, he's very shy, but he's comfortable around me and my sister Lucretia.

Oh! I forgot to talk about me and my family! I got sidetracked. My mother is an Espeon and my father is a Vaporeon. I heard Darien say their names are Duchess and Naiad. I'm the youngest of eight siblings. Here they are in order: Alseides (We like to call him Al or Alfie), Bolt, Vapor, Lucretia, Moondancer, Konoha, Yuki, and me, Sylvia. Lucretia and I are the only female Eevee in the family, save for my mother. Alseides has a bright and fiery personality, and he's fun to chase around. Bolt is rather vain and arrogant, always thinking himself better than everyone else. Vapor is the prince of the family: charming, kind, chivalrous, and sweet, though he tends to let his kindness get to his head. Lucretia is the lady of the family. She's just as nice as Vapor, but she isn't a stuck-up princess. She loves to play with us and socialize with other Pokemon. Moondancer is very aloof and prefers to be alone some of the time, though he doesn't mind being with me. Konoha is strong and cool, always helping others. Yuki is shy and timid, like Serena and Bambi, but he's not as easily frightened. And then there's me, Sylvia, the little runt of the family. Like Yuki, Serena, and Bambi, I'm shy and don't like playing rough. I prefer to sit around and watch the world go by, gaze at the pretty flowers, listen to the Pidove sing and chirp, and watch the Pokemon play.

But that doesn't mean I hate playing with other Pokemon. Mother says that when I was young, the Mareep would always invite me to play with them, and Alfie, Lucretia, and Vapor would always make me play with them. I was afraid of them once, as they were much bigger and fluffier than me. Not only that, they were electric Pokemon, and made thunderbolts appear from their bodies. I was shocked by one once, but not to a life-threatening degree. Eventually, I wound up playing with them, but not enough to be friends with them. My siblings, the Mareep and I would run and gallop round and round and round the field, running past and over anything we laid our eyes on. Sometimes they played rough, and they would ram each other with their deep blue heads. One time, when Bolt and Alseides were picking fights with some Lillipup and Riolu, Mother mewed for me and the others to come to her. We did as we were told.

"It's time I told you. As you can see, you are all very special Pokemon," She told us in her old but kindly voice. "You are of a rare Pokemon species that is not known or seen in this region. You know very well that the Pokemon here are good and kind, but the Mareep and Psyduck are bred for trainers and do not have very good manners. You are well bred and born. Your great-grandfather helped a very good trainer win the Unova Pokemon League, and your grandfather had the sweetest temper ever. There was never a Glaceon like her in the world, and you've never seen me kick or bite. I want you all to grow up gentle and good, and never learn bad ways. I want you all to hold your heads high, stand your ground when trouble arises, and be kind to all those you meet, good and bad. You all should never forget who you are. Be true to yourselves, and life will open its door to you all."

I have never forgotten her words. I still remember them to this day.

I remember one day when me and Bambi decided to take a little stroll into the small forest that's right near the ranch. We don't go very far in there, as there are some Pokemon there that we don't want to run into, but they usually don't bother us as long as we don't bother them so it's been okay. Bambi and I found some Oran berries on the ground and decided to snack on them.

"Oran berries are so good, aren't they?" Bambi asked. I nodded as I chewed on a piece of one, trying to make sure I crushed it completely with my teeth before swallowing one.

"So what do you want to play today? Hide and seek? Tag?" I asked curiously.

"Can't we just look at the pretty flowers?" Bambi asked back, not liking either of my suggestions. Bambi loves flowers, just like I do. It's no surprise since he's a grass type Pokemon and has flowers all over him. But I've seen other Pokemon, even his own kin, mercilessly tease him for preferring to sniff flowers instead of get into fights. He's the sweetest little boy Deerling I know, even though he's much bigger than me. Not wanting to make him sad, I smile.

"Okay. We can look at the flowers. How about those little orange ones over there? They look nice," I suggested. He smiled and we sat down and stared at the little orange flowers for a long time. Then we went to look at the yellow ones, the purple ones, the blue ones, the pink ones, all of them. Later, I heard Alseides and Bolt laughing amongst themselves, but we made sure not to pay attention, even though we could hear them.

"Ha ha! Look at those wimpy babies fawning over them flowers!" Bolt laughed.

"They've been staring at them all day!" Al said.

"Come on, boys! Stop being so insensitive! Honestly, you're both so immature! Some Pokemon prefer to settle down and enjoy the little things in life, and sometimes they're much better than putting others down!" Lucretia scolded promptly. She may be sweet, but when push comes to shove, she is not an Eevee you'll want to cross.

"Geez, sis! Don't be so annoying!" Bolt snapped.

"Bolt. That's enough. Let's go hang out with Dad," Al suggested. He actually made a smart decision and Bolt, feeling disappointed that Al doesn't want to join him in putting me and Bambi down, decided to obey, and they both left. Soon, Lucretia and Yuki joined us in flower gazing.

"I wish Bolt would stop acting so self-absorbed. He always thinks the world has to revolve around him," Yuki said.

"Me too," I agreed.

"Maybe I am a wimp..." Bambi muttered sadly. It broke my heart to see him looking so down-trodden, so I gently tapped him with my paw.

"You're not a wimp! You're the sweetest, nicest Deerling I know, and my bestest friend in the whole wide world!" I told him with a big smile on my face.

"Really? You'd wanna be friends with a scaredy-cat like me?" Bambi asked tearfully.

"Of course! I'm a scaredy-cat too, so scaredy-cats should stick together so we can be brave together!" I told him. He smiled and nudged me with his big black nose. I giggled and I leaped on him, trapping him in a good tickle attack. This is our favoritest game. Lucretia and Yuki decided to leave us alone and play together by themselves so we enjoyed our time together.

Sometimes, humans would come and visit the ranch and Darien would give the eggs to them. I remember running with my mother and stopping to watch a human girl, a little older than Serena, have a Pokemon egg given to her and leave with it. This confused me.

"Why is that human taking the egg?" I asked Mother.

"Perhaps Darien gave it to her," Mother replied softly.

"Why is he giving her an egg?"

"Maybe it's to thank her for being good."

"But shouldn't a Pokemon be free?"

"Well, some Pokemon are happy being free, and some are happy with being with humans. Maybe the girl wants a Pokemon and Darien is giving her one so it'll be her friend forever and ever."

Even though I've seen Serena and Bambi get along very well and enjoy each other's company, I never understood why humans, who can't understand us, would want to be friends with Pokemon. But Darien and Vicky are nice, so I like them, but I don't consider them to be friends. Bambi's my friend too, so I'll be more than happy to share him with Serena. Lucretia is friends with everybody, both human and Pokemon, and she seems to like the attention, so that's okay with me. But still...what purpose would it serve for humans and Pokemons to bond when we're so different from one another?

I remember the whole family getting together once in the barn, our parents included. Father, Naiad the Vaporeon, Darien's pride and joy, asked us all what we wanted to evolve into when we got older.

"What do you all wish to evolve into when you grow up?" Father asked in his low but sweet voice.

"I wanna be a Jolteon!" Bolt exclaimed happily, obviously wanting to be the first to say what he wanted to be. Bolt always wants to be first in everything. "I wanna be like the Ampharos and zap everybody with thunder and lightning! Zap! Zappity zap zap!"

Everyone laughed. "That must be why your name is Bolt!" Al joked.

"I was BORN to be a Jolteon! Believe it!" Bolt proclaimed proudly.

"I want to be a Glaceon," Yuki muttered.

"That's a wonderful ambition, Yuki. Did you know the word Yuki means snow in a foreign language?" Father explained. Yuki smiled brightly and his face turned red like a tomato.

"Can I be an Espeon like you, Mama?" Lucretia asked Mother as she snuggled up to her.

"Of course you can, Lulu. You can be whatever you wish to be," Mother told her kindly, which made Lucretia snuggle up to her even more.

"What do you wanna be, Moondancer?" I asked Moondancer, who, as usual, sat on a big red chair right next to the fireplace, not caring at all about what's going on around him.

"An Umbreon. Isn't that obvious?" Moondancer answered back a little sharply. Moondancer has a bit of a venomous tongue.

"Watch the attitude, Moonie," Vapor piped in.

"Don't call me Moonie!" Moondancer snapped.

Not wanting a fight to ensue, I decided to step in. "Please don't fight!"

"Yes, children. We don't want to disturb Serena, and you know how she can be when she's disturbed," Mother told us sternly.

She's right. When Serena is disturbed, she throws huge tantrums. She screams, shrieks, jumps around, flaps her hands, hits, kicks, and throws stuff when something upsets her to the point of making her explode. We've seen her have those meltdowns before, and they weren't pretty. Usually when this happens, Darien and Vicky just leave her alone and put us in the barn until she calms down. I heard them say that forcing her to calm down only makes it worse, so when Serena gets upset, we try not to bother her. It usually works.

"I know what I want to be. A Leafeon! I think it's the best evolution out of all of the Eevee evolutions!" Konoha said.

"No way! Jolteon's the best one!" Bolt retorted.

"Nuh-uh! Flareon's the best, and that's the one I want to be!" Al piped in, not noticing that he stepped on Vapor's tail.

"OW! Watch it, Al! You stepped on my tail!" Vapor hissed upon gazing into Al's frightened eyes. Al, seeing his error, removed his paw from Vapor's tail and trotted back a few steps.

"Sorry..." Al apologized sadly and sat next to the chair that Moondancer is sitting on.

"Idiot..." Moondancer muttered to himself.

"My only wish is to be a Vaporeon like you, Father. They're the most popular Eevee evolution, aren't they?" Vapor asked Father.

"From what I've heard, yes," Father replied.

"So what do you want to be, Sylvia?" Mother asked.

"Me?" I asked, surprised that all eyes are suddenly on me. For some reason, I didn't like the feeling of it. At first I didn't know why.

But then I remembered. Everyone has an evolution that they want to evolve into. Lucretia wants to be an Espeon. Al wants to be a Flareon, Vapor a Vaporeon, Bolt a Jolteon, Konoha a Leafeon, Yuki a Glaceon, and Moondancer an Umbreon. But...what can I be? There are eight of us, and only seven known Eevee evolutions. Is there a special Eevee evolution that I can evolve into?

"Come on! Sylvie's NEVER gonna evolve! She's too weak and stupid!" Bolt retorted.

"Bolt! Bite your tongue!" Mother scolded rather sternly.

"Yeah, Bolt! Don't go around saying bad things! It's not nice!" Lucretia backed Mother on her claim.

"Don't listen to silly Bolt. You can be whatever you want to be, Sylvie," Yuki said kindly, with a smile on his face.

"Do I have to decide right now?" I asked shyly.

"No. You have all the time in the world to decide what you want to be. It's your choice, not ours. I only wanted us to talk about something interesting, that's all," Father said and let out a laugh.

Soon the rest of the family laughed together until dinner time. Darien and Vicky gave us all big bowls of Pokemon food made just for us Eevee. I finished my meal first while Bolt decided to steal some of Al's food, being the selfish glutton that he is. Soon he and Al were biting each other's ears while Mother tried to break them up unsuccessfully. Father simply laughed while Yuki hid behind him in fear. As soon as Moondancer finished his food, he went back to his chair. Having nothing to do, I decided to join him.

I was going to be very surprised by what I'd hear.

"Sylvie. Someday, I'll leave the Floccesy Ranch," I heard him mutter in his high but solemn voice.

"What?!" I almost screamed, but I quickly made my paws fly to my mouth so I wouldn't scare anyone, especially Serena, who is very easy to frighten. I didn't want her to go into a meltdown so I decided to keep my voice down to a whisper, even though my voice is still covered with shock. "Why?"

"It's boring here. Nothing exciting happens. There's a whole world out there that I want to see. There's so much out there that I don't know about, and I'm sick of being cooped up here with that dribbling, addle-brained girl. I want to be a strong Umbreon who travels the world under the glistening moonlight. Mother says we should live our lives the way we wish, and I want to do just that. You're more than welcome to come with me if you want," Moondancer said.

While I do agree with him on living his life the way he wishes, I don't think leaving Floccesy Ranch all of a sudden is the way to go about it. "But won't Mother and Father be worried? I don't want to see them sad," I told him.

"It's natural for parents to be worried. But they're going to have to let me go someday. I don't want to spend the rest of my life on a boring ranch where nothing happens."

"Would you want to be with a trainer?"

Moondancer scoffed at the idea. I wonder if I said something bad. "No way! I don't want to be controlled by some indecisive human! I refuse to be used for someone's personal pleasure and amusement! I hate those humans who treat Pokemon like toys, like animals they can use and manipulate and perfect so we can meet their impossibly high standards! They can't force me to do what they want!"

I didn't understand back then, so I tucked his words somewhere in the back of my head and locked them up so I could think about them later. But while I don't understand how humans and Pokemon can bond while we're so different, I know that Darien, Vicky, and Serena are very nice, and Moondancer makes it sound like all humans are bad, and that isn't true. Normally I would never do this, but back then I decided to be bold.

"Not all humans are bad, Moondancer. Darien and Vicky are nice," I told him without any hint of shyness in my voice.

"They don't really care about us. They're just breeding us so we can increase the Eevee population and be given away to trainers," He replied sharply.

"Is that really why?"

"Why else do you think they give those eggs away? They're giving Pokemon away to trainers for them to use! Why else do you think they didn't get rid of Mom and Dad when they had the chance? They're only using them for breeding, nothing else!"

"But Darien loves Mother and Father! He lets Mother sleep with them in their bed at night. Is that really someone who uses Pokemon for breeding?" I didn't know what the word breeding meant, but Moondancer made it sound bad, and I saw first hand that Darien didn't treat Mother and Father like items they could use. When I said that, however, Moondancer fell silent. I wondered if I had insulted him.

"Sorry. I'm not trying to be mean. Honest," I said softly.

"I know you're not. You're a good girl, Sylvie. You should live your own life the way you want to. Don't let others control you and make you what they want you to be. I know you're a nice Pokemon, but sometimes being nice all the time can be bad. It'll make you easy to manipulate," Moondancer replied softly.

"What does manipulate mean?" I asked.

"To manipulate someone means to control them or trick them using complex means. When you grow up, be strong, Sylvia. Be a strong Pokemon. You'll need to be strong in this world, but you don't have to come with me."

"I don't want to stop you from fulfilling your dream, but I don't think you should just leave Floccesy Ranch. Maybe it's too early. Wait until we're a little older. Are you going to tell Mother and Father?"

"I plan to, but not now. I want to get stronger first."

I licked his face. For the first time in a while, he smiled.

"You're a good sister, Sylvie."

"Thanks, big brother."

Even though Moondancer and I are close sometimes, I didn't agree with his view on humans being all bad. Feeling a little sad about that, I decided to talk to Father.

"Father? Are there such things as bad humans?" I asked later that evening.

"What put that idea in your head?" He asked back, surprised by my question.

"Moondancer says most humans use Pokemon for their own purposes."

Father and I sat down by Serena's bed and talked.

"Sylvia, dearie. Moondancer is right in a way. There are bad humans in this world who use Pokemon for evil means. Some even hurt them, even kill them, simply because we're Pokemon and they think we do not have feelings like they do. That, and they only like the strong Pokemon, not the weak. But that doesn't mean all humans are bad. Most humans in this world truly love Pokemon, even the weakest ones. Look at Darien and Vicky. They made the ranch so they could save many abandoned Pokemon. They saved me when I needed them the most," Father explained kindly but solemnly.

"You were abandoned?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"Yes. A trainer who adopted me only wanted me to be strong. I did not meet his expectations, and he decided to throw me into a river so I could die. Darien found me and nursed me back to health before he and Vicky got married. Unlike the trainer who wanted me to be a heartless battle machine, Darien treated me the same way he did Vicky and his family. He made me feel loved and appreciated, even though I considered myself weak and worthless. I found a water stone and evolved into what I am now, and he didn't mind one bit. Darien took me under his wing, and we partook in many battles together. We met lots of good Pokemon and people. Darien is the kindest man I know, and I'm sure there are people like him and Vicky in the world. Don't live a life believing that all humans are bad, Sylvia. Someday you'll find someone who you will love very much, like Bambi has," Father explained.

"But why would humans like Pokemon?"

"Some people love them because they are mysterious. Some want to learn more about them. Some want to find ways to understand us and help us co-exist with them. Some want to help them become stronger. Some people just simply want a friend who doesn't judge them or treat them bad and will always be there for them no matter what."

"Is that why Darien and Vicky adopted Bambi? So Serena can have a special friend?"

Father nodded slowly. "Yes. Serena seems to communicate better with Pokemon than with people, and they decided that having a Pokemon would be good for her. Bambi's helped Serena, and Serena is helping Bambi, so everyone's growing and learning in their own way. Oh! It seems Vicky wants me to assist her."

Vicky asked Father to help her with Serena's bath so he went with her. This conversation helped me understand a bit more about humans. They're complex. Sometimes they're mean, sometimes they're nice. Everyone is different. Plus, Bambi and Serena get along very well, and they always look so happy when I see them together, so I didn't want to get in the way of that. Maybe Moondancer saw that as well, but perhaps he doesn't want to accept that humans can be good. But I knew why he called Serena a dribbling addle-brained girl. She tends to go from sweet and serene to violent and wild in short spans of time over things happening around her.

But that didn't mean she was a bad person.

The day after my conversations with Moondancer and Father, Vicky had to leave early to pick Serena up from school. Something bad had happened. When they came home, Serena ran to her room crying and screaming loudly. I could see huge tears pouring out of her eyes like the water that the Azurill would shoot out of their mouths. Feeling bad for her, I decided to go into her room. I found her on her bed, cuddling with Bambi while howling into her pillow. While in her room, I accidentally overheard Darien and Vicky talking. Vicky sounded extremely angry.

"I can't believe that stupid teacher! Those kids picking on her are at fault, yet she had the nerve to claim Serena is the bad one! She isn't, for God's sake!"

"What happened, Vicky?"

"Serena told me the boys at school kicked her into the mud and threw dirt and rocks at her! She tried to make them stop, but they outright refused! Then she started screaming and hitting them in retaliation. Mrs. Dunphey called me to pick her up. It's a good thing Meredith was there and explained everything to me. But that Mrs. Dunphey! I am so sick of her! She claims I don't discipline her correctly and lectured me about putting her in an institution! She should have punished the boys, but noooo! Those boys have been picking on Serena for months, yet she's never done one darned thing about it, and she thinks she knows everything! I'm just happy Meredith gave those boys a good spanking herself since that Dunphey lady's too stupid to care about anything and anyone but herself and her reputation!"

"Not once did she do anything?"

"No! She just stood there watching! She kept yelling at Meredith for sticking her nose in places where she's not wanted and stupid nonsense like that! Seriously, I want to take Serena out of that wretched school! I should file a lawsuit!"

"I have a friend who's a lawyer."

Serena was bullied? And only the one-to-one assistant helped but nobody else would? How horrible! So bad humans do exist after all. Just like father and Moondancer said. But why would humans think other humans are bad simply because they have something they don't want? I didn't think something like that seemed right, and Serena cried really hard. What did Serena do that was so bad? It broke my heart to see Serena so sad, so I hopped onto her bed and very gently licked her tear-stained face. She continued to howl, but I didn't care. I didn't let it bother me. After licking her some more, her crying lessened and she looked up at me with her sad green eyes. She let me cuddle her and touch her face with my tiny paws. She smiled and hugged me. Bambi did the same, and she made room for him too. She cried into the both of us, but we didn't mind. Bambi and I looked at each other and smiled, feeling good about doing something nice for her.

After about a few hours of cuddling her and reassuring her with our presence, Serena finally calmed down. Once she did, she dug into her pocket and pulled something out. It's a pale beige ribbon with a silver letter S carved out of silver. She wrapped it around my big, fluffy neck and tied it around me, with the S in front of me. Serena smiled.

"S for Sylvia. It's for you. I made it in art class. I made one for Bambi too," Serena told me. She then pulled something out for Bambi. It's a blue ribbon with the letter B on it in silver as well. She wrapped it around Bambi's neck. He blushed and smiled as she tied it around him.

"You two are my bestest friends!" Serena said with a bit of a stutter upon trying to say friends. After that she hugged the both of us.

Serena's tender hugs and warm heart despite the hardship she endured really made an impression on me back then. Perhaps Father is right. Not all humans are bad at all. Perhaps me and Bambi are the special friends she really needed since nobody in school except for Meredith likes her.

After she gave us the ribbons, Serena, Bambi, and I played together for the rest of the day. Soon Lucretia, Yuki, an Azurill she named Bubbles, and a Lillipup she named Patrasche, joined us too. We played with toys, listened to music (mostly classical, as Serena loves classical music), played pretend Pokemon battle (Only pretend. We didn't use any attacks or hurt each other. Serena hates hurting Pokemon), watched TV, ran around in the farm, chased the Mareep, went into the forest to explore, and looked at the purple flowers. When night came, Bambi and I slept with Serena in her bed, hoping she'll have nice dreams with us around.

This day made me decide what I wanted to be. I still wasn't sure about what I wanted to evolve into, or whether I wanted to evolve or not, but I definitely decided I wanted to be a friend to those who needed one, to comfort those who are sad and feel as though nobody likes them for who they are. Those who believe they're worthless and unwanted because people say so. I wanted to remind Serena that she has someone who will always be by her side. I know Bambi's here for that, but nobody said that someone only needed to have one best friend.

However, nobody, me included, was prepared for what we were going to see tomorrow morning.

When I woke up that morning, I heard the voices of my siblings.

"Wow! Look at you! You're wicked, bro!"

"Man! You're black as the night!"

"Congratulations, Moondancer! You evolved!"

"You look so cool!"

What happened to Moondancer? I heard something about evolving, but I wasn't sure if I heard right, so I ran out into the backyard. Much to my surprise, amongst my mother and father and a gaggle full of Eevee, there's this strange, black figure standing out starkly among them.

This creature is taller than all of us by at least two feet. His skin is black as the night, with some bright yellow ovals on his slender, spindly legs. Yellow stripes donned his pointed ears and tail, and his eyes are red, like tomatoes, yet they had a strong but gentle sheen in them. My parents and siblings are worshipping this creature. I wasn't ready to accept what was standing before me, even though I knew I had to.

After all...

"...Moondancer?"

He nodded. "Yes. It's me, squirt. I evolved. Just last night. I'm an Umbreon now."

"You look lovely, my son," Mother said in her kind voice.

"You evolved first! No fair!" Bolt complained.

"Get over it, you silly goose!" Lucretia scolded.

"How'd you do it?" Konoha asked.

"I saw some nasty little Patrat bullying a helpless Riolu, so I stepped in to help. In the heat of the moment, the moon's light shone down on me and I evolved. I scared them away as soon as they saw me," Moondancer explained with a smile on his face. He then looked down and me. "Are you sad that I evolved?"

I shook my head. "No. You look great. I'm happy for you," I lied to him, even though I felt ashamed to do so. It wasn't his evolution that made me sad.

It was what came afterward.

"Everyone...now that you're all here, I have something I want to say to you all. You may hate me for saying this, but I wish to tell you all. I...I want to leave Floccesy Ranch," Moondancer told us, his smile fading.

"What?! You want to leave us?!" Bolt exclaimed.

"Why?! Don't you love us anymore?!" Yuki yelled. This is very unlike him, as he never yells.

"Hush, children. Let Moondancer speak," Mother told them. They quieted down, even though I could tell that in their hearts, they wanted to yell and scream and berate Moondancer for his announcement.

"I don't think there is a future for me here in Floccesy Ranch, even though I am grateful for Darien and Vicky's kindness...and yours. I want to travel the world, meet many Pokemon, and become a strong Pokemon. I want to show the world that I'm strong and will not let anyone step on me," Moondancer explained.

"You are a fine Pokemon, Moondancer. If that's what you want, then we will not stop you from fulfilling your dream," Father said softly.

"But Papa! Moonie's gonna leave us forever! Aren't you the least bit sad?!" Lucretia yelped tearfully.

"I won't be gone forever. I'll come back and visit whenever I can," Moondancer said.

"You liar!" Bolt snapped.

"Bolt! Don't call Moon a liar! He never lies!" Konoha snapped back. I had to agree with Konoha. It's very unlike Bolt to call Moondancer a liar, and Moondancer, despite his aloofness, is usually known for being extremely brutally honest.

"Children! Stop bickering at once!" Mother commanded. Bolt and Konoha stopped arguing, but everyone was sad at this point.

"I'm sorry for deciding this so suddenly, and it is not my intention to make you all sad. I have a feeling that my time here in Floccesy Ranch will only open up an opportunity for a trainer to capture me, and I don't want to live my life as someone's slave. I hope you all understand," Moondancer explained softly.

I turned to Mother and Father. I could see that they're trying to hold back tears, yet they looked so calm and serene. Lucretia burst into tears right off. Alseides just looked away. Konoha, Vapor, and Yuki all looked down at the grass, trying not to cry. Bolt continued to howl angrily. All I did was stare at his new, sleek, black fur.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, Moondancer?" Mother asked.

"Yes, Mother. I hope you'll forgive me for not thinking about you guys," Moondancer said sadly.

"It's alright. If this is what you want, then go and fulfill your dream. We'll support you all the way. After all, I did tell you and your siblings to live your lives the way you wish after all. But most importantly: never forget who you are," Mother told him.

"I'll come back whenever I can, and I'll show you all my new powers. Goodbye," Moondancer muttered softly.

"Take care of yourself, my son," Father said.

Moondancer nodded and proceeded to go in the opposite direction. Right toward the gate that lead to the next route. Suddenly, I found myself hopping in front of him.

"Don't go! I'll miss you!" I pleaded tearfully, not wanting him to go. I could see the sadness in his eyes as well. He gave me a sad smile and licked my furry head gently.

"I'll miss you too, Sylvia. But there's more to the world than just Floccesy Ranch, and if I want to protect you all, I have to get stronger. You understand, don't you?" Moondancer told me.

"But what if someone catches you? What if you never come back?" I asked tearfully. Now the tears fell, and I could feel my fluffy cheeks moistening.

"I'm not so stupid as to let myself be caught by silly humans. We Umbreon are intelligent and nocturnal. I won't go down so easily. Perhaps when you decide what you want to be, maybe we'll meet again. Partings don't last forever, you know?" Moondancer said.

I didn't know about that last part. As much as I wanted Moondancer to stay, he seemed so set on his decision, and I feared that if I whined and complained and persisted in making him stay, he'd get mad, and I didn't want him to get angry. I've seen him get angry, and he's much worse than Bolt. I could hear Bolt screaming back at the ranch but I tried not to pay attention. With one last smile and lick on the cheek, Moondancer finally left in the daylight. He disappeared once he turned a corner, and all of a sudden, I couldn't see him anymore. I stayed there for so long, I failed to notice Bambi coming up right next to me.

"Where's Moondancer going?" Bambi asked innocently, unaware of what just happened.

"On a journey. He says he wants to get stronger," I told him.

"You okay?"

"No. My big brother just left and...what if he doesn't come back?"

I cried into Bambi's fur and he didn't seem to mind. We sat down together and he licked my head again, like how Moondancer did. I wondered how life would be without him (Moondancer). But then I remembered. Moondancer was never very social, and whenever we had special occasions together, it always seemed as though he was never there, even though we always acknowledged that he was. I wondered if he always thought about leaving. Maybe he planned it all along, feeling like all we Eevee do is play and frolic and not do much of anything. Once I stopped crying, however, I hoped that Moondancer would be happy with his new life.

It didn't occur to me that later on, the rest of my family would soon disappear one by one.


	2. Goodbye, Floccesy Ranch

Chapter 2: Goodbye, Floccesy Ranch

He said it wasn't his intention to make us sad. I understood that completely, and everyone else did too. But in the end, we were all sad anyway. I cried in Bambi's fur upon seeing him leave. Later I heard Bolt and Konoha getting into a fight about Moondancer, with Bolt claiming that Moondancer abandoned us. Konoha defended Moondancer's decision, and despite Lucretia and Vapor working together, Bolt and Konoha just wouldn't stop fighting. Alseides suddenly grew quiet and aloof, just like Moondancer. Yuki cried for a bit, then acted like nothing happened. Later on, I heard the sound of Mother crying in Father's fur. She said something about wishing that her little Moondancer was still the rambunctious little Eevee he was before, but Father reminded her that all kids grow up someday, and when they've decided what they want to be or do, parents have to let them go, even if it means losing them. I wonder if I'll break down crying if my kids-if I have any-decide to leave and pursue their dreams?

Strangely enough, Moondancer's absence affected Darien, Vicky, and Serena as well. Darien and Vicky kept asking each other about whether they've seen Moondancer or not, and they ran all over both the house and the ranch looking for him. "Moondancer! Moondancer! Where are you?" They kept calling out. But Moondancer had already left by then. Serena didn't seem to care much. She just played with Bambi the entire time. Serena never did care much for Moondancer. Oftentimes, she never even knew he was even around, or even had a name for that matter. Lucretia, Yuki, and I were the only Eevee she ever interacted with. Moondancer never interacted with her either, mostly because he didn't like her. He called her dribbling and addle-brained, and I could tell from the way he said those words were that he meant them to be taken as insults, even though I didn't like the way he treated her.

Later on, Darien jumped in his car and drove away just to look for Moondancer while Vicky had to stay and watch Serena as she (Vicky)'s not too fond of babysitters. Even though I was happy that they cared about Moondancer, it still made me confused as to why some humans would care about Moondancer in the first place, as they never really noticed him before. They never treated him bad, that's good, but they didn't seem to pay him much mind either, so I wondered why they cared about him so much. Father told me later that to Darien and Vicky, all the Pokemon that live under their roof are special and deeply loved, even if said Pokemon chooses to be aloof and indifferent to their offers of kindness. I know Serena loved me and Bambi very much, so I'm okay with her caring about me, but she never interacted with my siblings much either save for Lucretia and Yuki. I know for a fact that Moondancer often walked away whenever she approached him, Bolt would hiss or bite if she got close, and Alseides would be so busy playing that he'd never notice, no matter how hard she tried to make her presence known.

After about a week of searching and worrying, Darien and Vicky finally stopped, and things were going back to normal. But then again, life without Moondancer didn't seem much different from when he was still around, since he hardly ever interacted with anyone. Something inside me wondered if maybe he really wanted something more out of life than being cooped up in a big ranch, not being allowed to go anywhere until some human came around to adopt him. I've seen humans adopt Pokemon and eggs from the ranch lots of times. A boy named Motoki adopted an egg that, right then and there, hatched into a Sentret. Two girls adopted two Vulpix eggs. I know because I saw a Ninetales lay those very eggs. A girl much older than Serena named Amy came and caught a Mareep, a Lillipup, and an Azurill here in the ranch with the help of her only Pokemon, a Snivy. I wondered if maybe my siblings and I were just as vulnerable to being captured by those machines called Pokeballs as those Pokemon that Amy caught were. Do we belong to Darien and Vicky, or are we considered wild? That always crossed my mind whenever trainers and their Pokemon came around.

I would find out much later that it'd prove to be true.

After about a week, Bambi and I played in the field were the purple flowers used to be. They all withered away because it was autumn around that time, but the orange, yellow, red, and brown leaves, both on the trees and the grass, were fun to jump into. We covered ourselves with leaves, we made big piles of them, we hid in them, we popped out of them, and we jumped right out of them as quickly as we'd hide in them. It was fun. But still, playing in a big pile of leaves and throwing them all over the place didn't make me forget about Moondancer or the hole he left in not just my heart but everyone else's. But I knew that wishing he'd come back wouldn't make him come back, so I had to deal with it.

"Aren't these leaves pretty, Sylvie?" Bambi asked as he showed me some piles of very pretty red leaves he found on the ground. A day after Moondancer left, Bambi's fur turned orange, like the sky when the sun would set, and that interested me more than the leaves. I heard somewhere that Deerlings' fur change color depending on the season. When its spring, a Deerling's fur turns pink. That's my favorite color, and Bambi likes it to. When its summer, its green. When its autumn, its orange, and when its winter, its brown. But my curiosity for his change in fur color has since faded away, and the leaves he found were particularly big and shiny-looking. I smiled.

"Yep! Very pretty! I'll see if I can find some pretty yellow ones," I said as I went to look for some big yellow leaves, or, to be more specific, yellow leaves that didn't have any cracks or chips or rips in them, or weren't completely destroyed and ripped up, as I had been finding a lot of those lately.

But when I got close to the house, I stopped as I saw a car pull up by the gate. I hid in a big pile of leaves that Bambi and I hadn't touched yet. The car is shiny and black, and I saw four humans dressed in white coats come out from both sides and walk right up to the door. They're all male and one of them, who has a big bushy head of brown hair the same shade as my fur and a small beard on his chin, knocked on the door. Bambi came by my side once that happened.

"What'cha doin'?" Bambi asked. I shushed him and he clammed up as soon as he saw what I was looking at. Soon, Darien answered the door.

"Hm? Hello there. What can I help you with?" Darien asked.

"Are you by any chance the caretaker for this ranch? Darien Carter?" The man with the bushy hair and beard asked.

"Yes, I am," Darien replied.

"I am very sorry to intrude on your property, and I have no intention of trespassing, but my name is Dr. Frederick Navarro, and I am a renowned scientist from the new region. My colleagues and I have been researching the Pokemon called Eevee, and in our research we believe we may have unveiled evidence of the existence of a new, previously undiscovered evolutionary form," The bushy-haired man, Dr. Navarro, explained calmly.

"A new evolutionary form? Did you yourselves discover it?" Darien asked, surprised by the news.

Bambi and I looked at each other with confused faces. A new Eevee evolution? But there's only seven of them! Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, and Glaceon. How can there be an eighth one? How is it even possible?

Dr. Navarro cleared his throat. "Technically, no. Some higher-up scientists witnessed an Eevee that was imported from Kanto come into contact with an item and it evolved into something that was not seen in this world before. They recorded a video of it, though they have not released much information on this evolutionary form or the name of the item it came into contact with. They're rather private about the matter, and they have not released the video to the public, even though they allowed us to view it. They say they want to keep their research hidden until they studied the Pokemon further. However, we ourselves have discovered an item that looks just like the one in the video and it possesses the same properties and characteristics as the one in the video, and we would like to see if what the scientists recorded is true, and make this new evolutionary form of Eevee known to the world," He explained further.

Darien raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. I could tell that he looked suspicious of them. "I take it you all don't have an Eevee to test your hypothesis on?"

"Unfortunately, no. That's where you come in, Mr. Carter. We heard that you have been breeding Eevees in Unova, and that you have quite a number of them. Eevee are near impossible to find in Unova, as they are not indigenous to this region. We were wondering if maybe, with your permission of course, we could take one off your hands to ease the burden on both you and your ranch," Dr. Navarro asked.

My ears twitched and I tried not to gasp lest they discover me. I heard the words "take something off your hands" more than enough times to figure out that it means they want to take something or someone away from you to keep for themselves. Somehow, I had no idea how, they found out Darien has a lot of Eevee in his house even though there aren't very many in Unova. Then I wondered if Darien would actually consider giving one of us away, separating us forever. Would he take Bolt? Or Alseides? Lucretia? Yuki? Even...me? They can't take Moondancer since he evolved into Umbreon, and from what I hear once an Eevee evolves, it can't evolve any further. It stays the way it evolves into forever. As much as I'd like to evolve, I don't want to be separated from my family. I prayed that Darien wouldn't give me or any of my siblings away. Moondancer being gone made us sad enough already.

Thankfully, my prayers had been answered.

"You're asking me for an Eevee? Can't you catch one of your own with a Pokeball? Why haven't you gone to Kanto? There are wild Eevees in abundance over there," Darien asked them suspiciously, his tone of voice turning austere.

"Due to obligations we need to attend to here in the meantime, we are forbidden from going as far as Kanto. Again, we hate to intrude on you like this, but in the event that you wish to rid yourself of an Eevee, we would be more than happy to take one off your hands. It'll prove to be-" Dr. Navarro didn't get to finish his sentence.

"I'm sorry, but I don't breed Eevees to fancy the likes of you money-grubbing dopes! They're mine, and you have no right to just barge in and ask for one, especially for free. Besides, there's lots of wild Eevee in Kanto. Go over there and catch one! It's not that hard! Now off my property or I'll have you arrested for trespassing!" Darien yelled with gusto in his voice. With that, he slammed the door right in front of them. Looking sad, the men all went back into their car and drove away. I exhaled a big sigh of relief, thankful that I or my siblings didn't get taken away.

"Yay! You're not gonna be taken away!" Bambi chirped happily, pleased with the fact that neither me or the rest of my family are going to be taken away. I had to admit, I was relieved too. Very relieved.

"I'm so glad," I said. But then what the man said echoed in my head. "A new Eevee evolution...I wonder what it could be. What type is it?"

"Dunno. Maybe it'll be really cool. Oh! Maybe it'll be the perfect evolution for _you_!" Bambi exclaimed happily, with a big smile on his now rosy red face.

"What?! Me?!" I yelped, popping out of the pile of leaves with some still being stuck to my ears, head, and fur. "What brought that up?"

"Isn't that why you didn't decide what to evolve into yet? Because you thought that since everyone else claimed one you couldn't evolve into any of them?" Bambi asked.

"Well...I guess..." Admittedly, I wasn't sure about what I could evolve into. My seven siblings already claimed all seven evolution forms, and I felt like I couldn't decide on any single one, not just because they were all taken, but because I felt like if there were two of the same Pokemon, it'd be hard to find out who's who. Well, then again, since I'm a girl and still had the collar Serena gave me, it'd be pretty easy to tell if me or one of my brothers evolved into the same Pokemon. Not only that, Bambi looks so excited, and normally he's never excited about anything.

"Think about it! You'll be your own Pokemon! You won't be mistaken for someone else and you won't have to feel like you have to be like your siblings!" Bambi exclaimed.

"I guess it'd be nice. But we don't know what it is yet. I don't want to evolve and then find out I don't like it," I told him.

"Maybe there's a picture or drawing of it somewhere?"

"Dunno. He said a video of it was recorded, but we don't know what a video looks like."

"Aren't videos stuff they show on TV?"

"Possibly. Maybe that's it. But they said the higher-ups didn't release the video to the public so there won't be many people or Pokemon who know about it."

Bambi's ears drooped and he looked down. "Oh. You're right."

Feeling bad about making him sad, I tapped his leg with my paw. "Don't be sad, Bambi. I'm sure we'll see the new Eevee evolution someday, and when I see it, who knows? Maybe I'll love it, or maybe I'll hate it. But I wanna see it first before I decide on whether to evolve into it or not," I told him. With that, Bambi smiled and we went back to playing until lunchtime.

Unfortunately, an argument flared up at lunchtime, and it was about what happened today. Vapor brought it up.

"A new Eevee evolution. That sounds very interesting! I wouldn't mind seeing it myself," Vapor said as he finished his food.

"No way! I'm sticking to being a Jolteon when I grow up!" Bolt proclaimed arrogantly as he took a bite of his own food.

"Moondancer's lucky. He got to evolve into what he wanted so he's safe," Alseides said.

"That's true," Yuki piped in.

"I'd love to see what it looks like. I wonder if it looks cute and cuddly. Or would it be strong and cool? Or refined and elegant? Or pretty and beautiful? Ohhh! Just thinking about it makes me want to jump all over the place!" Lucretia wondered out loud, dreaming about all the possibilities of what it could possibly look like.

"But in order for them to see what it looks like, they need an Eevee. What if those guys come and catch us?" Al asked fearfully.

"They won't," Konoha piped in. "Darien told them that he's not giving any of us to them so we're safe."

"How do you know, smartypants? You sure he didn't say that just to think about it later?" Bolt inquired rather bitterly.

"I'm not lying! I heard him say so myself! He didn't sound like he was going to give us away!" Konoha exclaimed.

"Can you please calm down? Mama and Papa are trying to sleep," Lucretia tried to take charge, but Al suddenly stepped in rather angrily.

"That's why Moondancer left! He's afraid that Darien and Vicky are gonna give him away so he bolted before they could send him to some trainer! He should have considered what leaving us here would do for us! We might get taken away!" Al suddenly shouted.

"He said he wanted to get stronger, but that doesn't mean Darien and Vicky are actually going to give us away! They love us!" Konoha argued.

"I agree. Let's have some faith in them, shall we?" Vapor said.

"Oh, you're one to talk! You've never left the ranch so don't act like you know everything!" Al shouted angrily.

"That's not what I'm implying at all! Stop jumping to conclusions, Al! You're being ridiculous!" Vapor snapped back.

"Think about it for a second! What if Darien actually DOES decide to give one of us away?! It could me me or you or you or you or even you, Syl!" Al screamed while pointing to Bolt, Vapor, Konoha, and me. But he didn't stop at me. "You're the only one who hasn't decided what to evolve into! They'll take you and evolve you against your will!"

"Don't drag Sylvia into this!" Yuki exclaimed, shocked by Al's preposition.

"Yeah! And besides, I know they won't give me away! I'm too awesome for them, and I'm already gonna be a Jolteon, so they won't need me!" Bolt proclaimed proudly.

"They can't understand us so they'll do whatever they want with us!" Al snapped back.

"So?! Just because we can't talk like they can doesn't mean we can't get our message across!"

"Humans don't think we're capable of feeling anything!"

"BOTH OF YOU, STOP!" Finally having had enough of their senseless bickering, I leaped on them both and smacked them on their heads with my paw. Once they looked at me with surprised faces, I decided to take this opportunity to take control despite being the youngest. "Al, I know you're upset about what happened today, but Darien said that he's not going to give us away, and I don't think he'd be the type to just let them come in and take anything they want and just walk away. Nobody's going to take us away! Mom, Dad, Vicky, and Darien won't let them! Bolt, you need to stop making things worse by acting all stuck-up and selfish! Plus, I know what you mean when you say you want to get your message across, and don't think attacking anyone is going to solve anything either!"

"Quit gettin' an attitude with me, Syl!" Bolt snapped.

"I'm not! You two need to stop arguing! We don't know what'll happen so we can't worry about it just yet!" I pleaded.

"Stop acting like you're the smart one. You're the youngest so know your place!" Al exclaimed.

"Alseides! That's no way to talk to Sylvia!" Lucretia snapped.

"You know what? Forget it. I'm out," Yuki said as he let out an exasperated sigh and left the room. Finally the fight ended when Mother and Father came into the room and scolded Bolt, Al, Vapor, and Konoha for arguing. After I finished my food, I decided to go out into the ranch.

That's where I saw my first Pokemon battle.

Once I got to the hedges, I saw two human kids standing about 20 feet away from each other. One was a girl, another was a boy. One girl had blonde hair in a ponytail, deep blue eyes like the night sky, and light skin. She was wearing a purple vest over a blue, long sleeved shirt, a pair of beige jeans, and long brown boots. The boy had messy black hair, purple eyes, and slightly darker skin. He was wearing a black, white, and green hoodie, blue jeans matching the girl's eyes, a red hat on his head, and orange and black sneakers. Both had Pokeballs in their hands.

"Are you ready to go, Leonard?" The girl asked, her eyes blazing with courage.

"Oh yeah! But I'll let you go first, Jenny!" The boy, Leonard, told her.

"Alrighty then! I choose you, Minccino!" Jenny threw her Pokeball and out came a grey chinchilla-like Pokemon, a Minccino.

"Cute! But let's see how tough it is! Go, Blitzle!" Leonard threw his Pokeball and out came a black and white Blitzle who whinnied as he appeared.

"Minccino! Use Pound!" Jenny exclaimed. Her Minccino charged right at the Blitzle.

"Dodge, Blitzle! Then use Quick Attack!" As ordered, Blitzle dodged the Minccino's attack and he then charged right at her. He managed to ram into her and send her flying somewhat.

"Minccino! Don't give up! Use sing!" Jenny proclaimed. Promptly, Minccino got back up and proceeded to sing. I could see Blitzle getting dizzy and beginning to fall asleep. Thankfully, I didn't fall asleep even though I heard it. But I did wonder why these trainers were making Pokemon fight.

"Why are they fighting?" I asked myself out loud. I had no idea that someone was eavesdropping on me.

"They're battling!" A high pitched voice suddenly chirped right next to me. I turned to my right and saw an Emolga right next to me. An Emolga of all Pokemon! They're usually not seen around Floccesy Ranch! I've seen one before, when a trainer came to pick up and egg. She had an Emolga, and if I remember correctly, she said she was from a place called Driftveil City, and lots of Emolga are from there.

"Umm...hi?" I said, surprised by her sudden appearance.

"Hi! I'm Remi! Wanna watch this with me?" The Emolga, Remi, introduced herself happily and asked if I wanted to watch the battle with her, even though I was already watching.

"I thought Emolga didn't live here on the ranch," I said.

"I don't live here. I'm from Nimbasa City! But my friends put me and another friend of mine in charge of gathering as much food as possible for the winter, so I'm traveling south of Unova to get lots of berries!" Remi explained.

"Do you know why they're fighting?" I asked as I saw Jenny tell her Minccino to use DoubleSlap on a sleeping Blitzle, and Leonard looked extremely surprised that she managed to get the upper hand.

"The correct term is battling. Trainers do this with their Pokemon all the time. They battle each other to make their Pokemon stronger," Remi explained.

"They do?"

"Yeah!"

"But isn't fighting bad?"

"In this case, battling's a form of communication between them. Fighting doesn't have that. Fighting is when people catch Pokemon without Pokeballs and make them fight each other for money, even to the point of death."

"But battling almost looks just like that! How can that and fighting be different?" I asked as I saw Blitzle wake up and try to get the upper hand, but Minccino slapped it with its tail multiple times.

"I wish I had the answer to that. That's just what I heard from other Pokemon. Sorry if I confused you. Oh! I gotta run! My friends are gonna get mad if I don't get some berries! See ya!" Remi said, then decided to fly away.

It was at this point that Blitzle was completely knocked out. Jenny and Minccino had won the battle. Leonard looked really angry when he made his injured Blitzle return to its Pokeball. They exchanged a few words and Jenny left. Leonard didn't, and I heard why.

"She thinks she's so tough. Forget it. I'm stickin' around to catch some Pokemon. I'll teach her to act all conceited and important!" Leonard grumbled angrily to himself.

I was about to leave until I saw Bolt suddenly hop out from the hedge. He saw me and was about to say hi until...Leonard spotted him.

"Whoa! Is that an Eevee?! Oh my God! I gotta catch it!" Leonard yelped with surprise, then got a Pokeball out.

Bolt and I both heard it and we froze with fear. Leonard actually wanted to catch Bolt! I remembered Darien saying that Bolt and the rest of us belonged to him and him alone. Surely this random kid won't be able to catch us! I gestured for Bolt to leave, but he didn't notice. In fact, he seemed to take Leonard's wish to catch him as a challenge.

"I'd like to see you try, human kid!" Bolt hissed, though all Leonard heard was "Ee! Eevee! Eevee! Ee!"

I hid in the hedge myself, hoping and praying that he wouldn't see me.

"Go, Tepig!" Leonard threw a Pokeball and out came a Tepig.

"Tepig Tepig!" Tepig oinked as he appeared.

"Tepig! Use Flame Charge!" Leonard demanded. Tepig covered itself in flames and charged right at Bolt, who somehow managed to get out of the way. Unfortunately, Tepig tried again, and he managed to hit Bolt.

"Great! Now use Tackle!" Bolt fought back by using his own Tackle, but somehow Tepig proved to be stronger and knocked him away. Tepig did it again. And again. Bolt tried to dodge them all and fight back, but Tepig is proving to be too strong.

"Bolt!" I cried out, but Leonard thankfully didn't hear me. Bolt tried to get up, but Tepig attacked him with another Tackle attack. Soon enough, Bolt couldn't get up. But he did see me and talk to me.

"This is nothing...he can't catch me..." Bolt muttered weakly.

I feared the worst. "Bolt! You have to run or he'll catch you! Go! Now!" I pleaded. Bolt barely managed to stand up. But I saw it. Leonard got a Pokeball out.

"Pokeball! Go!" He threw it.

It flew right toward Bolt.

No. I couldn't let my brother get captured. Who knows what could happen. Not caring about whether I got spotted or not, I flew out of the hedge in a desperate attempt to save him.

I failed to notice a big root right by my foot, and one of my forelegs got caught on it. I tripped as a result. It also forced me to witness a scene I never thought I'd see.

As soon as the Pokeball hit Bolt on the head, he turned into red light and got absorbed into the ball. It fell on the grass and it shook. Leonard took a look at me in surprise for a moment, but then focused back on the ball. I prayed that Bolt would somehow break out of it and return to me.

Sadly, my prayers were unanswered.

The light on the ball disappeared, and it stopped shaking.

Bolt had been captured by the trainer.

And I failed to save him.

"NOOO!" I cried and howled into my paws while Leonard jumped for joy, completely unaware of the sadness he caused me and was going to cause my family.

"Yeah! I just caught a rare Pokemon! Oh yeah! Go me! Aw yeah! Am I awesome or what?!" Leonard howled happily as he jumped up and down like a madman.

Then he tried to grab the ball. Once I got my leg out of the root, I did something that I'd normally never do.

"BOOOOLT!"

I kicked the Pokeball away, and I bit Leonard's wrist.

"Ow! Get off me, you mutt!" Leonard shrieked in pain, but I didn't care. I bit him as hard as I could, even though I hated doing it. I needed to believe that I could somehow save him. I needed to save him. Sadly, even my attempt at saving him like this didn't work. With great force, Leonard smacked me and knocked me onto the grass. He grabbed the Pokeball with Bolt in it and, with his Tepig by his side, he ran away.

I chased after them.

"Give me back my brother! Give Bolt back to me!" I ran as fast and as hard as I could, hoping I could catch up to them and somehow save Bolt. I didn't realize that I completely left the ranch and was traveling in completely open and uncharted territory.

Just like Moondancer.

But I didn't care. I needed to get Bolt back. Moondancer being gone was sad enough. I didn't want to think that Bolt wouldn't be here either. As much as I never liked his selfish, arrogant, cocky, reckless, and impulsive attitude, he was still my big brother, and I was obligated to at least try to help him. Unfortunately, Leonard commanded his Tepig to use Flame Charge on me, and he was so fast, I didn't have time to dodge. I was hit so hard, I was knocked unconscious. I blacked out.

I feared for Bolt's safety. So many unanswered questions flew around in my head like a horde of scared flying type Pokemon. Would Leonard be a good trainer, or would he be bad? Is Leonard nice? Does he treat his Pokemon well? Does he treat them as more than just animals or tools he can use for battle? Is he bad? Does he treat them bad? Does he only train Pokemon to be strong and throw them away when they don't meet his expectations? That's what happened to Father, even though he was lucky and got saved by Darien and Vicky. What will happen to the family once they find out that Bolt's gone? I knew that they'd be super sad because of it. But what will they think of me once I told them everything? Would they say it's my fault, and that I let Bolt get captured? Would they understand that I just wasn't strong enough? Would they be happy with the fact that I at least tried? I couldn't help but wonder despite my being unconscious.

After a while, I don't know how long it was, I woke up in a strange building that the people inside said was called a Pokemon Center. I found that my strength had returned and my injuries had been tended to, so I used this chance to escape and try to get back to the ranch. Even though I didn't know where I was, I knew from hearing lots of conversations that Floccesy Ranch is very close to Floccesy Town, and that the latter has a clock tower and isn't very big in size. I ran out of the town, went through some huge patches of tall grass, made sure not to be spotted by any Pokemon. After a while, I noticed the gates, and I found my way back. Mother was the first to greet me.

"Sylvia! Oh, thank goodness you're alright! Where in the world did you go? I was so worried about you!" Mother licked my head, which gave me lots of comfort. But it also made me sad, and I cried into her fur. I literally fell apart in her arms. I needed to cry so bad, and she was the perfect outlet.

"Mama! Bolt's gone! A trainer caught him! I tried to save him but I couldn't! I tried, I really tried! They were too strong!" I wailed into her fur. I could hear her gasp because of my hypersensitive hearing, but all she did was stroke my fur with her paw and let me cry into her chest. After a few minutes, my chest started to hurt and we went back inside. At dinnertime, I decided to tell everyone about what happened. I didn't want to lie, even though I really wanted to spare them the agony of telling them that now two of our family members are gone and likely never to come back. Despite my trying to hold back my tears as I told them about it, in the end I succumbed to a new fit of crying.

"Oh dear..." Father muttered with shock. I didn't dare to see everyone's expressions. I didn't want to. I buried my face in my fur.

"Bolt's gone too?!" Lucretia yelped.

"A trainer caught him! That means...we don't really belong to Darien after all..." Yuki exclaimed.

"What are we going to do?" Konoha asked fearfully.

It dawned on all of us right then and there. Al was right all along! If Bolt can be captured by a trainer, than the rest of us except for our parents could get captured too! All of a sudden, a blow struck my stomach and I was suddenly thrown against the wall.

"Ow!" I screamed in pain.

"Alseides! Why'd you do that?!" Lucretia yelled angrily as she stepped between me and an extremely angry Al.

"It's YOUR fault, you brainless dip! You were there! If you hadn't been so slow and stupid Bolt would still be here! You could have saved him but you didn't!" Al screamed angrily.

"Alseides! Don't ever talk about your sister like that! She tried to save him as best she could, but the trainer and his Pokemon turned out to be too strong for even her!" Father scolded angrily, surprised by Al's sudden change in behavior. Al paid no heed.

"You should have been captured instead of him! You're way stupider than the rest of us and you're always in the way! You let him get captured on purpose! I'll bet you're happy he and Moondancer are gone!" Al yelled.

Mother was about to say something until something inside me decided it wasn't going to be ordered around. I hopped back on my feet, marched right over to Al, and looked him right in the eye.

"I am NOT happy that they're gone! And for your information, I actually TRIED to save him! I really did! I tried to fight off his Pokemon, and even after he got stuck in the ball I tried to take it away from him! I even bit him in the wrist! But he knocked me out! I chased him out into town before his Tepig used Flame Charge on me! I don't know what's gotten into you, but I am NOT going to tolerate it!" I snapped angrily. Something inside me decided that Al was not going to decide everything by succumbing to his anger and delusions.

"Look who's talking! You're way weaker than the rest of us so you should have been captured! Bolt would never have let a trainer catch him! I'll bet you talked him into it to get back at him for pulling all those pranks on you!"

"I did not! I tried to make him leave once it got bad, but he wouldn't listen to me! And besides, he got hurt so bad he couldn't even stand up properly!"

"Why didn't you save him when you had the chance?!"

"I WANTED to, but I couldn't! Stop making it sound like I wanted him to get caught!"

"Why do you always think you're right about everything?!"

"I don't!"

"Stop acting like you're so important! You may think you're so awesome and smart, but you're nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! You're just a big fat crybaby who'll never amount to anything! You'll be a big fat baby forever, and nobody will ever like you!"

"That's enough! Both of you!" Finally having had enough, Vapor got in between us. Normally, in times like this, I'd hide behind Mother or Father. But this time, I didn't back down, even though Vapor stopped our bickering.

"Al, you have to understand! It's not her fault Bolt got captured! Pokemon who have been raised by trainers can be remarkably strong. And besides, we're all still very young Eevee, and it's unlikely that Syl or Bolt would have been able to stop them even if they tried. Let's be rational here. Fighting isn't the answer," Vapor told him.

"Why do you always gotta stick up for that selfish crybaby?! All she does is get in the way and make things worse for all of us! Maybe she's the reason Moondancer left! Maybe he got sick and tired of her!" Al yelled.

"He left to get stronger, nothing else!" I snapped, horrified by his allegation.

"Stop all the blaming, please! It doesn't solve anything! Aren't you at least happy that she tried to save him?" Lucretia asked.

"I agree. Pokemon trainers can be very strong. It's unlikely that Bolt even stood a chance," Konoha told him calmly but sternly.

This time, Father decided to take charge. "Alseides. I won't tolerate this behavior you're displaying. I understand you're upset about Bolt. Believe me, we all are. However, getting angry and blaming Sylvia for it isn't going to bring him back or make things better. There are things in this world that even we can't handle. We have to either accept our limitations or learn to overcome them in any way we can. Now, I want you to go to Darien's room and think about what you've said and done," He told him sternly.

"Why should I stay with a human all day?! One just captured Bolt and now you're defending them?!" Al snapped.

I didn't want to hear anymore, even though I wanted to prove to Al that I wasn't weak and that I didn't let Bolt get captured on purpose. I wept and ran into Serena's room. I found Bambi there and I wept into his fur. He didn't say anything. He just stroke my fur and licked my head as I told him everything.

"It's okay. You tried. I think Bolt will understand. You're not a bad Eevee," Bambi told me sweetly. His high, cute voice is always full of genuine innocence but acceptance.

"If...if the trainer turns out to be a bad person, I'll never forgive myself for not being able to save him!" I cried.

Soon, Darien and Vicky realized that Bolt was missing too. They looked for him for about a week, but then they stopped. As usual, Serena didn't care. She hated Bolt. She was probably happy he's gone. Later, everyone tried to adjust to both Moondancer and Bolt being gone. On one autumn day, I was all by myself playing ball with Mary and Mali, two Mareep twin sisters. Mali wound up knocking the ball out across the fence and it rolled away.

"I'll get it!" I cried as I hopped over the fence to try and get it.

It would be the worst mistake I ever made, and to this day I still regret ever going after it.

I looked for it everywhere I went, not realizing that I was leaving the ranch and going onto the trail that led to Floccesy Town. As I looked around, I soon noticed a shadow looming over me. I looked behind me.

For just a second, I saw Dr. Navarro and two other people behind me.

Right then and there, I felt a blow across my head and I blacked out.

It would be the last time I ever saw my family, and the last time anyone ever saw me.

Later than that...this would be the last place I would ever be seen as an Eevee in general. My fate had been sealed.


	3. The 8th Eevee Evolution: Sylveon

Chapter 3: The Eighth Eevee Evolution: Sylveon

I woke up to the sound of extremely loud roaring, banging, and clanging noises. The voice that made the roaring sounded very scratchy, like they lost it because of screaming for a long time. But not only did I wake up to that sound, I woke up to something else. Something extremely startling. I was no longer in Floccesy Ranch or Floccesy Town at all. Instead, All I saw were silver steel bars surrounding me from all sides except for the top and bottom. The panel above me was made of black steel, along with the floor I was standing on. I found that I couldn't break through any of them, nor could I move more than a few inches from the center. I knew immediately what I was trapped in. It was a cage. The cage I was locked in was only just a bit bigger than me, making it impossible for me to run around or circle around while stretching my legs. I felt so cramped and compressed, like I was being stepped on and couldn't get out. I looked out of the bars and saw other Pokemon trapped in cages as well. Some I recognized, like Oshawott, Lillipup, Patrat, Snivy, Tepig, Pidove, Rattata, Pidgey, Weavile, Swinub, Magby, Elekid, Riolu, Trubbish, Psyduck, Grimer, Koffing, and Tympole. Others I didn't recognize, like a small yellow fox creature with big orange eyes and red fur in its ears, a big purple cobra with sharp teeth, a blue plant thing with green leaves on it, a black and white bird that's about the same size as a Pidove, a green plant Pokemon with red and blue roses for arms, and, strangely enough, a huge, pale green dinosaur thing that's right next to me.

The more I looked outside my cage, the more it dawned on me. Not only am I stuck in a really tiny cage to the point where I can barely move around at all, my cage is inside a much bigger cage, and this giant green dinosaur Pokemon was staring right at me with a scary look on its face, like it wanted to eat me or attack me. There were black stripes on parts of its body, along with a big blue diamond on its belly, only it wasn't shiny or anything. Its head and back had big spikes on them and its eyes were brown. The green dinosaur Pokemon was much much MUCH bigger than me or any of the other Pokemon in there. If I had to estimate how tall it was, it'd be about 8 meters tall. It towered right over me, creating a big shadow that covered me entirely, and it looked at me like it really wanted to eat me or attack me. I had never seen a Pokemon as big as that one in my whole entire life until right then and there. I wanted to escape, but I couldn't. No matter how much I scratched the bars or rammed myself against them, they wouldn't budge or bend or break, not once.

But despite the Pokemon looking at me, I noticed that its gaze looked rather odd. It didn't look like she was looking right at me, even though it was. It looked more like it was looking right through me, seeing something much farther off. I heard panting, but I was so scared at the sight of the green dinosaur that I didn't pay any attention. I did, however, notice that after a while, one of its claws started glowing in a bright white color. It still continued to look right at me. I immediately feared the worst. I knew I couldn't escape no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried. So I cowered in fear, covered my ears, curled into a ball, and screamed.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" I screamed in my loudest voice, preparing for the end of me. The Pokemon was so big, it could easily squash me with its big feet or tail, or its entire body, and I couldn't escape, so I thought I could just accept my end despite my life being so short. But weirdly enough, it didn't come. Instead, I heard the same clanging, roaring, and banging sound. Instead of hearing the sound of a bloodthirsty animal trying to kill me, I heard a voice. A real voice. A voice that sounded very desperate, hysterical, and sad. It made me open my eyes, albeit fearfully.

"Let me out of here, you putrid humans!" The green dinosaur Pokemon screamed at the top of her voice. It sounded very raspy and scratchy, but I could tell right away it was a she. Once I stopped cowering in fear and actually stood up, I saw that this Pokemon wasn't trying to kill me. Instead, she clawed and scratched at the steel bars, trying to get out. She kept screaming "Let me out! Let me out!" and wouldn't stop. She really wanted to get out.

Just like me, and maybe even the rest of the Pokemon here.

After a while, however, she ran out of breath and fell on her butt. She panted and panted, but then she saw me and looked surprised. But this time, I didn't think she was going to kill me. The face she had looked more like she saw something strange than the face of a Pokemon that wanted to kill.

"Oh heavens! What's a little Eevee doing in the same cage as me?! I can't believe I didn't see you there! I must have scared you real bad. I'm awful sorry, little one," The Pokemon said, actually looking guilty. Even though it sounded raspy, her voice sounded nice, and it helped me to relax, even though I still wondered why me and all these other Pokemon are here.

"It's okay. Who are you?" I asked, with the last of my fear dissipating from my body despite the fact that I have every reason to be scared since I'm trapped in a cage and unable to get out.

"I take it you haven't seen a Tyrannitar, have you? Well, I'm a Tyrannitar, and the name's Claudia," The Tyrannitar, Claudia, said, her voice becoming more lucid and less raspy.

"I'm Sylvia. I'm from Floccesy Ranch," I told her promptly.

"Never heard of it, though from lookin' at you, you must be from the Unova region, though I thought Eevees are supposed to live in Kanto. I'm from Johto, so it's unlikely you've seen any of my kin in your region," Claudia explained.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I dunno. I was out getting food for my children when all of a sudden some tank rolled up to me and trapped me in a net...My children! I've gotta get out of here right now and get back to them! They must be scared out of their wits! If I don't find food for them soon, they'll die!" Claudia explained, then became frantic and tried to claw at the bars again. She was a mother, and she seemed to care very much about her children. I was just glad she wasn't a mean and evil Pokemon, even though she certainly looked scary, being as big as she was. I didn't want to say this as it'd probably hurt her feelings.

"How many children do you have?"

"Six."

"I have seven siblings. Two of them are gone. One got caught by a trainer and another evolved and left on his own."

"Sorry to hear that, sweetie."

"Kids have fathers, right? Where's the father of your kids?"

It's here that Claudia stopped and sat back down again. But instead of looking angry, she looked really, really sad, like something horrible had happened. Much more horrible than getting captured. I wondered if I said something bad, something that hurt her feelings.

"He's...gone. A trainer caught him," Claudia muttered sadly and wistfully. My heart sank.

"Just like my brother Bolt. I'm sorry..." I muttered sadly. I wondered if trainers who catch Pokemon don't consider the fact that they have family and friends that they're breaking apart. Maybe they don't separate them on purpose, but the Pokemon they leave behind get sad if one of their own disappears without a trace. My family was sad when Moondancer left and when Bolt got caught. Pokemon aren't heartless.

"It's alright. But we've got to get out of here! My children need me, and they must be starving!" Claudia said once she got back up.

"Not gonna happen," A slithery male voice said from one of the cages outside. It came from the scary-looking purple snake Pokemon. Claudia gave the big purple snake an angry glare, and it made me shrink into my cage a bit out of fear.

"Don't tell me what to do, you nefarious Arbok! I have kids that need me! Don't talk to me like you know everything!" Claudia snapped. I recoiled in fear because of how angry her voice sounded. It seems the purple snake's species name is an Arbok.

"I have a name, y'know. It's Cobra," The Arbok, Cobra, slithered with his tongue wiggling about. "Look, I'm not trying to pick a fight. Once you're caught by these guys, your fate is sealed. They won't let you out."

"How do you know?!" Claudia snapped angrily. I didn't like where this was going so I tried to intervene despite being so small.

"Let's be rational here. Fighting isn't the answer," I told them. I couldn't believe I was trying to smooth out a fight despite them being much bigger and older than me. I wondered if I even had this kind of mettle in me all along.

"I've heard about these guys. They're from the new region. They catch whatever Pokemon they please and perform experiments on them to see what they're capable of," Cobra explained in a hissing voice.

"What kind of experiments?" The Magby on the cage above Cobra's asked fearfully. I could tell from its voice that it was a boy. Probably a really young and scared one at that. His voice almost reminded me of Yuki's so sweet and high-pitched, yet so frightened and terrified of everything.

"Evolution experiments. Feeding experiments. Dissection experiments. Battle experiments. Pretty much anything. I've been there before and I escaped, but they got me again," Cobra explained.

"Evolution?" I asked, suddenly curious. "Like...do they find Pokemon to test if they can evolve into brand new Pokemon that have never been seen before?"

"If what I've been hearing is true, yes," Cobra said.

"I hope they don't evolve me against my will. I have big plans in life!" The yellow fox Pokemon said in a high pitched female voice, like a little girl. She sounded a bit like Lucretia but younger.

"What kind of Pokemon are you?" I asked.

"I'm a Fennekin, and my name's Fiera. I'm from the new region, which is where we're going right now, but some group called Team Rocket caught me. I think these guys are taking me back to my home. I really hope Daviel is okay," The Fennekin, Fiera, said in a sweet female voice.

"Who's Daviel?" I asked.

"My trainer. She's a super nice trainer who loves me very much!" Fiera chirped happily.

"Shut up, you human slave. You shouldn't be talking to us since you're under human control," Cobra hissed angrily.

That got me mad. "Hey! Not all humans are bad, and Pokemon who have been caught by humans are no different from those in the wild, so don't say that they're disgraced!" I yelled.

"Who are you to talk, shorty? Nowadays, Pokemon are slaves to stupid humans who use them for their own selfish purposes!" Cobra hissed.

"It's hopeless! We're trapped!" The Oshawott, obviously another young boy one, cried hysterically, with his little paws covering his tear-stained eyes.

It's here that Claudia tried to scratch at the bars again. "I'm not givin' up just yet! I'm gonna bust out of here or die trying! My kids need me!"

"Just give it up. It's not worth it," The Trubbish said sadly in a raspy-sounding voice.

I wanted to say something to encourage them, but I wasn't sure about what would happen to us either. I was about to be lost in my thoughts and watch Claudia miserably try to break herself out until I heard a voice.

"Excuse me. Hello. You're an Eevee, right?" I looked up to find that the blue plant thing with green leaves and red eyes is looking at me.

"Y-Yeah? I'm Sylvia..." I told her. Her voice convinced me she was a girl.

"You say you're from Floccesy Ranch. That's in Unova, right? Eevee aren't supposed to live in Unova, only in Kanto. Oh! Sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Viole, an Oddish. I'm from Kanto," The Oddish, Viole, explained.

"My mother and father are from Kanto and their trainer came to Unova to settle down, if what I hear is true. What happened to you, Viole?" I told her.

"I was just playing with my friends when some strange people got me," Viole explained.

"What do you think's gonna happen? Are we gonna die?" Fiera asked from above.

"Nah. Usually people who catch Pokemon use them for something. We're considered too valuable to kill," Cobra hissed softly.

"If we're considered too valuable, then why don't they just let us back into the wild?! We didn't do anything to them!" Claudia exclaimed hysterically. I could tell she was starting to lose her composure. So were a lot of other Pokemon.

"Did we do something bad to them?" I asked, feeling unsure.

"These people don't care about that sort of thing. Any Pokemon they find, they'll just catch no matter what. We're just things they can use to satisfy human curiosity," Cobra hissed again.

It's here that I wondered if that's why Moondancer left. I knew that Moondancer wasn't too fond of humans despite Darien and Vicky being nice to him, but I never knew why. Maybe something happened to him before I was born? He said that humans don't really care about Pokemon, but he made it sound like there's more to it than that. All of a sudden, we heard a screech sound and the cages rattled around a bit, mine included.

"Ugh!" I covered my ears and cowered in fear.

"We must be landing..." Cobra hissed.

"Landing? On what?" I asked.

"Dunno," Viole piped in.

Everything that happened after that was so strange, so unfamiliar that for a moment I almost forgot all of this stuff even happened. A big door opened, and a man holding a big shackle of keys walked right up to Claudia's cage. I saw that a Pokemon was next to him. A Pokemon half his size, black with a purple face, blue eyes, bright red lips, and lots of white ribbon-like things on it.

"Gothorita. Use Psychic on the Tyrannitar," The man commanded.

"Goooth!" The ribbony Pokemon, Gothorita's eyes glowed in a bluish hue, and all of a sudden, a blue aura surrounded Claudia. Her eyes grew to double their normal size, and she looked like she was being frozen in place. She roared in pain, trying to move, but it didn't look like she could move even an inch.

"Claudia! You okay?!" I yelped with worry. Suddenly, I heard the keys rattle, and the cage was opened. If that Gothorita didn't use Psychic on her, Claudia would have jumped right on this opportunity to escape. Maybe that's why he made the Gothorita use that attack, just in case something like this would happen. They probably planned this in advance. The man walked inside, completely ignoring Claudia and walking right by her like she didn't exist, kneeled down to my level, gripped the side bars of my cage, picked me up, and walked away.

My fear returned. Many questions flooded my mind like a water pokemon using the move Surf. What's going to happen to me? What is this man doing? Why am I trapped in this cage? Is he going to do bad things to me? Is he going to let me go? What do I do? I didn't want to be separated from Claudia, and she knew this. I could hear her calling out to me. "Sylvia! Let her go, you stupid human! Leave her alone! She didn't do anything wrong!" All of a sudden, I found myself ramming against the cage hysterically, crying and wailing and struggling to get out.

I didn't notice, but a ghostly looking purplish black Pokemon floated right next to me.

"Gengar. Use Hypnosis," Another man's voice whispered.

I accidentally made eye contact with the scary ghost Pokemon, and it's red eyes glowed in an eerie red light. I tried to fight it off, but my strength left my tiny body, and I succumbed to darkness again. I remember, right before collapsing, wondering if this was going to happen to me a lot. I could feel myself falling right back onto the now warm, solid flooring of my cage, not paying any attention to the mild pain that it caused.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in a really huge room. I expected to be trapped in another small place, but the room I woke up in was really big and wide. A big, titanium room with glass windows surrounding every wall on the top. I saw some titanium doors, but they were closed and it didn't look like I could even remotely try to break them down, even with all my strength. But I bet a big, strong Pokemon like Claudia could. But below my feet wasn't steel or titanium flooring at all. Instead, a long, wide, flat surge of dirt and rocks spread to both sides of the room, and I saw a white circle mark in the middle of it. Lots of big rocks protruded from the dirt. It felt good to be out of that tiny little cage, so I wound up taking advantage of this situation by running around and hopping on the rocks to stretch my legs and body. I figured if I couldn't escape, I could at least run around and stretch for a bit. I was so relieved to finally be out of the cage that I didn't realize that three people were looking down at me from the big glass windows until I heard a scratchy voice ring from something called a PA system, and the sound made me want to cover my ears.

"This Eevee is quite the energetic little thing. Dr. Urbschat," One man said through the speaker thingy. Soon I got used to the noise and looked up to see what the people were doing. "Check the Pokedex and see if the Eevee knows any attacks."

A woman, I thought it might be this Dr. Urbschat person, with her hair in a bunchy ponytail opened a little red device and began reading something from it. She had glasses on and didn't look very happy. "It's still very young, but according to this, it's attacks are Tackle, Sand Attack, Bite, and Quick Attack," She said in a low voice.

"It'll do. I'll leave you in charge of commanding it, Dr. Urbschat."

"Yes sir."

I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but they said something about attacks. I know that attacks are what Pokemon use when they're in battle since I saw Bolt and Alseides battle from time to time. But I never knew attacks had names until now. I wonder what Tackle or Quick Attack look like. Do I just ram into a Pokemon and send them flying? How do they work? I was going to find out soon enough.

"Dr. Mingues! Send in the Snivy!" The man suddenly shouted.

One of the titanium doors on the other side of the room opened, and another woman, with long blonde hair tied in a very long braid, brought in a Snivy, who didn't seem very frightened given the situation, strangely enough. Once she set the Snivy down, the woman went back through the door, and the door itself closed as quickly as it opened. I assumed the Snivy would try to escape, but it didn't. I wanted to, but I didn't get there quick enough. I didn't understand what was going on, but since another Pokemon was with me, one that was my size, I felt less scared, even though I'm normally rather shy around new Pokemon. I decided to try and talk to it.

"Hi," I said, approaching the Snivy with a smile on my face, secretly hoping I don't frighten her or anger her. "I'm Sylvia, and I'm an Eevee. What's your name?"

"Hazel," The Snivy, Hazel, said in a low female voice, which confirmed she was a girl. She didn't sound very happy. On the contrary, she sounded quite miffed when she said it, not caring much about the fact that I was talking to her. "This isn't the time for idle chit-chat. These humans are making us battle, so you better be ready!" She suddenly said in a sharper tone.

"B-Battle?" I asked, becoming anxious and taking a few steps back. "But...I don't like battling! I don't know how to battle!" I exclaimed, my voice becoming more worried and hysterical.

"We don't have a choice in this...but I won't hurt you. Think of this as putting on a little show for them. It's not like they're making us hurt each other," Hazel said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I don't. I'm just telling you what to do so you won't be scared, since you look like you haven't battled a day in your life," Hazel told me mercilessly. She looked very much like a complete no-nonsense Pokemon, just like Moondancer.

"Battle, begin!" The man behind the glass wall exclaimed loudly.

"Go to the other side of the battlefield and prepare yourself!" Hazel commanded.

"But I don't know how to attack!" I argued.

"It doesn't matter here! You have to battle! We don't have a say in this!" Hazel snapped back.

"Snivy! Use Vine Whip!" Dr. Mingues commanded through the speakers.

Two long, thin, deep green vines appeared from Hazel's back, and with just the movements of her stubby little hands, she made them fly right toward me. They were fast, but I managed to run away and not get hit. But Hazel wouldn't let up. She kept chasing after me with those vines, trying desperately to land one hit on me no matter what...and I had no way of defending myself.

"Eevee! Use Sand Attack!" Dr. Urbschat commanded through the speakers.

I don't know what Sand Attack means, so I just continued running and jumping on rocks. The woman commanding me, Dr. Urbschat, kept telling me to use Sand Attack over and over again, but I don't know how to use it or what it looks like, so I just kept running away.

"You can't run forever, Sylvia! You have to attack me!" Hazel yelped as she tried to whip me with one of her vines again, though I managed to escape again.

"I don't want to attack you!"

"I know that, but you have to! Do what Urbschat says and use Sand Attack!"

"What does Sand Attack look like?!" I cried, feeling very confused, tired, and like I was about to explode.

"Dig your feet into the sand and throw some at me!" Hazel yelled.

I dug my feet into the sand lightly, then noticed that it moved. I dug further, and very quickly pulled them out, making some sand fly at Hazel, who dodged the attack by doing a backflip.

"That's right! That's Sand Attack! Now use your back legs to kick some sand into my face! That's how Sand Attack really works!" Hazel said.

"Like this?" I asked as I dug my back legs into the sand and began kicking some dusts of sand into Hazel, who dodged every single one by using her vines to jump onto the rocks. She looked so graceful, so elegant, and so refined when dodging my attacks, like she had done battles like these all her life.

"That's right! You got it!" Hazel said, smiling a little this time.

"Eevee! Use Tackle!" Dr. Urbschat commanded again.

"Tackle means you have to ram into me!" Hazel said once she got on the ground.

"Like this?" I turned around and ran as fast as I could toward Hazel. I really didn't want to do it, but I ran into her and knocked her away. Good thing she got back up rather quickly.

"That's right! That's Tackle!" Hazel said.

"Snivy! Use Leaf Tornado!" Dr. Mingues commanded.

Hazel hopped into the air and spun around like those tops that Serena would play with every once in a while. All of a sudden, about a million glowing leaves surrounded her, also spinning around. They flew around so fast I couldn't see Hazel in the big tornado. Then the leaves suddenly came flying at me. They came so fast, I didn't have time to move away, so I wound up getting caught in it. The leaves felt so sharp that they cut me on all sides. I was sure Hazel didn't intend for this to happen, but it really hurt. Finally the leaves scattered, but I could barely get up.

"Eevee! Use Bite!" Dr. Urbschat commanded.

I knew what Bite meant, as Bolt and Alseides were always biting each other or the Lillipup from what I saw. I tried to bite Hazel, but she dodged.

"Vine Whip again, Snivy!" Dr. Mingues commanded.

Hazel wrapped her vines around my legs and pulled them up, sending me falling on my side, but it didn't hurt as much as Leaf Tornado did. I only barely managed to get back on my feet since she hit me so hard with Lead Tornado.

"Bite again!" Dr. Urbschat commanded. I actually listened this time, and managed to bite Hazel's tail.

"Quick Attack!"

"Vine Whip!"

I tried to ram Hazel, but she slapped me in the face with her vine, which sent me flying against a rock. I tried to get up, but I slumped back to the ground. All I could do was gasp for air.

"Eevee is unable to battle. The winner is Snivy. Take the Eevee away, Dr. Urbschat," Dr. Navarro said.

But before she could, Hazel approached me. "Sorry I had to get tough on you. That happens in battle. But know this: you can't live life running away from everything. If you're caught in a corner, you're going to have to fight back, and if someone even bigger tries to hurt you, you have to train yourself and get stronger or you'll be stomped on by everyone."

That's when I lost consciousness. But I did hear some more voices thanks to my long ears.

"It's very weak, so of course it'd lose," That voice belonged to Dr. Mingues.

"But I still think this is the perfect candidate for that. We can't give up on this creature," That voice belonged to Dr. Urbschat.

But that's all I heard. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a much bigger cage, though not by much. I saw a big container attached to my cage with a tiny plastic tube coming out from the bottom. I saw that it had water, and I did feel thirsty, so I drank from it. Then I saw a silver plate full of brown Pokemon food. I felt hungry so I wound up chowing down. It felt great to finally eat something, as there was so much going on around me that it really made me dizzy. And when I would finish eating, every few or so hours, Dr. Urbschat would come in and refill my plate and even let me out into a little room and run around and play with the other Pokemon. I'm sure she had a kind heart of her own somewhere inside, but maybe she did these things because she had to, not because she wanted to. However, even with these small and brief moments of happiness, I still missed my family and really wanted to be with them, back in my mother's comforting fur, my father's slimy skin, and tumbling about with my siblings, the other Pokemon on the ranch, and Bambi. That, and I would realize that my battle with Hazel wouldn't be my last.

I don't know how many days passed while I was in those labs and rooms. All I knew was that every once in a while, I would be forced to battle other Pokemon. At first I kept losing, but then I actually won a battle against a Patrat. Then I beat a Pidove, a Tepig (It reminded me of the time Leonard caught Bolt. Maybe if I had a battle with a Tepig before this, I'd have been able to save him), an Elekid, a Riolu, and a Trubbish despite all the damage I had taken from all those battles. Soon, I began battling bigger Pokemon, like a Tranquill, a Watchog, a Servine (who wasn't related to Hazel. I asked), a Dewott (who wasn't related to the scared Oshawott. I asked), and even a Herdier. I even battled Cobra and, strangely enough, I won, and I heard that aside from Claudia, Cobra's the most powerful Pokemon in here. But to be perfectly honest, I hated battling them. I didn't think it was right, and I'm sure, somewhere in all of their hearts, that even the Pokemon I was battling knew that it wasn't right to be forced into battle. Well, Cobra actually enjoyed it for some reason, which I thought was wrong.

After another long while, I realized the true reason why I was captured...and it would change me. Forever. And there would be nothing I could do to prevent it, for I was just a tiny, helpless little Pokemon held here against my will.

After being treated to another good meal by Dr. Urbschat, Dr. Navarro and three other men came into the room one day. She suddenly stood up in alarm upon seeing them come in.

"I suppose it's time?" Dr. Urbschat asked uneasily.

"Yes. This Eevee has gotten stronger these past few months, and I believe it's ready for the experiment," Dr. Navarro told her coldly.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Months had passed?! How could they have kept me for so long? But then it dawned on me. Maybe they forced me to battle other Pokemon so they could make me stronger and prepare me for this so-called experiment. I thought about my family. They must be so worried about me, like how Claudia is with her own children!

Then I remembered the experiment. Could they be referring to...the new evolution?

I didn't want to be forced to evolve against my will, and if I evolved into said Pokemon before I decided whether I liked it or not, how would I feel about it? What is this new Pokemon like? I don't want to evolve into a strange Pokemon and then find out I don't like it! With these feelings of confusion, fright, and desperation in my scared but proud little heart, as soon as Dr. Urbschat opened the door to my cage, I smacked her hand with my body and tried to make my escape. I ran all over the room, looking for some kind of escape route. A door, a vent, a window, anything that could help me get out. But the door Dr. Navarro and the other men came in through was shut tight, and I couldn't get out no matter what. The people tried to catch me, but I managed to evade them and run all over the place like a crazed maniac.

"Get that Eevee!" Dr. Navarro commanded.

"Woobat! Come out and use Telekinesis!" One man threw a Pokeball, and out came this really creepy and ugly looking ball of light blue fluff with black bat wings, a big toothy mouth, and a funny looking thing on its face that's shaped like a heart. As soon as it came out, the heart-shaped thing on its face glowed a faint pink color, and like Claudia, I was suddenly unable to move. I felt myself be lifted into the air, and I saw a pink glow envelop my body. Now I know how Claudia felt.

I struggled, I wriggled, writhed, cried, and howled the entire time, but the Woobat wouldn't release me no matter what. The men left through the door, and the Woobat followed, carrying me with it. We went through quite a few hallways until we went inside a small, dark room, with only one light on. Right under the light machine was a flat, metal slab much bigger and longer than me, with brown leather restraints on it, both big and small. Right next to it is a cart full of strange metal objects, and most of them looked really sharp, shiny, and dangerous.

"Woobat. Set the Eevee down on the table while we put the restraints on it," The man, Woobat's trainer, told it in a low but cold whisper.

"Woobat!" Woobat used its powers to put me on the table and didn't release me until the scientists put those restraints on my body and legs, keeping me from moving. That's when Woobat stopped using Telekinesis.

The room was dark. The light above me was too bright, even for me. The metal slab below me felt cold. The restraints hurt my legs and body as I tried to break free. I didn't scream this time, but I felt this strong and uncontrollable urge to do so, even though I didn't. But as soon as one of the men pulled out a thing with a very thin needle on it, I found my voice and began screaming as loud as I could muster, with a voice that even surprised me. My voice didn't sound like it belonged to me.

"NOOOO! Don't stick me with that! I don't wanna evolve against my will! Mother! Father! Darien! Vicky! Serena! Bambi! Lucretia! Yuki! Konoha! Vapor! Moondancer! HELP MEEEEE!" Uncontrollable, childish sobs escaped my gaping mouth as I shouted and cried the names of all of those I held dear. I thought that my screaming would make them release me and untie the binds that kept me strapped to the big metal table. But my tearful eyes and shrill screams, which to them likely only came out as "EEVEE! EEVEE! EEVEE!" didn't stir any of them, not one living creature. No matter how tearfully I cried and how sincerely I begged, once the needle broke my fur and skin, I knew right then that all of my efforts came out fruitless. All of a sudden, my vision blurred and my flailing legs relaxed instantly. My eyes closed. I tried to make them stay open, it didn't work. I lost consciousness.

It would be the last moment I would ever spend as an Eevee. I would no longer be an Eevee after that.

I don't know how long I was asleep, but when I woke up, I found myself in a much bigger cage than before. There was still an upside down water bottle and a bowl full of Pokemon food. I felt really hungry, so I gave in to temptation and I chowed down on every little piece of food I could digest. But as soon as I finished eating, I saw something reflected in the bottom of the bowl. Something very unfamiliar.

Instead of seeing an Eevee, I saw a strange, light pink thing with big dark pink ears, big blue eyes, a ribbon on part of her head, and long, wavy things protruding from her head.

I didn't see me.

At first, I thought the bowl was playing tricks on me since the picture I saw looked pretty fuzzy and contorted, so I backed away. But then I looked down at my paws.

The first thing I noticed was that they weren't brown.

Instead, they turned dark pink, and my legs are light pink.

Not only that, I see some wavy, scarf like things that are light pink, just like my legs, only the ends of them are dark pink, purplish blue, and light blue.

Before I could do anything else, I heard voices again.

"Wow...so THIS is the new Eevee evolution. It's quite beautiful, especially up close," That was Dr. Navarro's voice.

Did he just say...new Eevee evolution?

"What's this new Pokemon's name?" Dr. Mingues asked.

"Sylveon," Dr. Urbschat replied.

Sylveon?

"Let's let it out so it can see for itself," Dr. Mingues said as she opened my cage and let me look at the steel walls.

That's when I saw it.

Instead of seeing a tiny, fluffy, brown Eevee, I saw a different creature. It's much taller than an Eevee, probably about Moondancer's height. The upper half of her forehead is dark pink, from the very tips of her ears to the bottom of my forehead. The rest of her face is light pink, donning huge, round, pale blue eyes, the same shade of blue as a cloudless blue sky on a warm, summer day. The rest of her body is sleek, thin, and a pale shade of pink, so pale that it almost looks white, with her paws a darker shade of pink, just like her ears. On her left ear is a ribbon the same shade as her body, with the middle part being dark pink. The same ribbon is on her neck. Protruding from the back of her head are two wavy, scarf-like things that are light pink, but with the top parts being dark pink, purplish blue, and light blue, with two tips at the ends. There's two of them coming from her neck as well, from behind the ribbon. The inside of her ears are dark purplish blue, and she has a slightly curled dark pink tail, shaped like a flipped over crescent moon. Protruding from her neck is the S-shaped necklace that Serena made.

That's when it dawned on me.

This pink creature, this Sylveon, is...me.

I screamed upon realizing what this creature is, and I literally jolted back a few steps with surprise painted all over my new face. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Did I really evolve? And into this strange, unfamiliar creature? Is this really the new Eevee evolution? So many questions inundated my mind, along with the very grim realization that this is what I'll be. Forever and ever. Now that I've evolved, I can never be an Eevee again.

That's when the tears came exploding from my new big blue eyes. My voice was still the same, but I buried my new face into my new long paws. That's why these people captured me, so they could evolve me against my will. They used me as a guinea pig to test out their new experiment, to confirm the existence of a new Eevee evolution without considering how I'd feel about it, or everything else they did for that matter. The evolution itself didn't make me cry. It's the fact that if I don't like this new evolution, I can't change back into an Eevee. I can't do anything to go back to what I was. That's what really made me cry for about ten whole minutes straight. Now that I've evolved, if I ever went back to Floccesy Ranch, would my parents and siblings, if they're still there, remember me? Would they recognize me? Would they welcome me back or cast me away now that I'm not an Eevee? I couldn't imagine my family not liking me if they knew that I was forced to evolve against my will.

Finally I stopped crying and decided to look at my new evolution a little more. I looked and looked and looked at my new form, my new identity, my new features reflected before me in the big reflecting walls. The more I looked at this...Sylveon creature...the more I grew to like it. My body is pink, which is my favorite color, Bambi's, and Serena's. The ribbons looked really cute, my eyes looked pretty, I looked just as thin and slender-looking as Moondancer, the scarf-like things looked soft and fluffy, and they definitely did feel soft and fluffy when I stroke them with my paws, so did the rest of my fur, and since my name is Sylvia and this new Eevee evolution is called Sylveon...it was like this evolution was tailor made for me, just the kind of evolution I've always wanted to be. I can have my OWN identity, nobody else's, even though there will probably be more Sylveon after this. I'd have a new set of attacks, probably matching my new type, and nobody will mistake me for someone else. I found myself doing what Lucretia did and admired my new look in the mirror. _'Yep. This is definitely me. This is MY kind of evolution!'_ I thought to myself with a new smile on my face, my previous sadness over my sudden change gone. If I had evolved into something ugly or not to my tastes, I would have cried even harder than the last time. But I actually liked this new evolution. Moondancer got to be what he wanted to be, and now...I got to be something that I thought I didn't like but actually do. I wondered if even he would recognize me.

I would have liked to look at my new evolution more, to confirm even further that it was really me and not some other Sylveon until Dr. Mingues grabbed me by the collar and dragged me onto the battlefield. I really didn't want to battle anyone, as I wanted to continue trying to comprehend the fact that I evolved, but I had to anyway. I wound up battling a Roselia, a Heatmor, and a Beartic. I won the battle against the Roselia, but I lost the other two battles. However, something strange happened. As Dr. Mingues was about to take me back to my cage, one of the titanium doors suddenly got flattened, destroyed, and thrown against the wall like it was a rag. Someone had broken the door open!

But it was the Pokemon who actually broke the door that left my mouth wide open and my big blue eyes huge with surprise.

"...Claudia?!"

"Call security! The Tyrannitar's wreaking havoc!" Dr. Navarro exclaimed.

I instantly figured out why Claudia broke the door down.

I knew that if I didn't take this chance, I would regret it forever, and I didn't want to spend my life in a lab.

So I kicked Dr. Mingues in the stomach and ran toward Claudia.

"Sylveon! Come back!" Dr. Mingues tried to grab me but I was too fast for her. I found myself running a lot faster than I knew I could possibly run, but I didn't pay attention to it much back then, and as soon as I approached Claudia, she gestured me to follow her. She probably didn't recognize me right then. But after we ran a considerable distance, I decided to talk to her.

"Claudia! It's me! Sylvia!" I told her.

"I know. I see the collar you have on. They evolved you forcefully, huh?" Claudia replied in a grumbly way, but I knew she wasn't doing it to be mean.

"Yeah. Anyway, are you trying to escape?" I told her. But in the back of my mind, she was right. I still had the collar that Serena gave me. I'm surprised the scientists never took it off.

"Yeah, but I'm helping others escape too. You better follow me if you wanna get outta here alive, Sylvie!" Claudia told me.

"I'm ready when you are, Claudia!" I told her, feeling passionate about our escape attempt.

We ran down quite a few hallways before reaching some rooms that contained lots of cages, both big and small, containing lots of scared Pokemon, including the ones that were on the plane with me, ones I battled, and ones I never saw before in my life. Claudia sliced the cage bars with her Slash attack and set them all free.

"FREEDOM! FREEDOM!" Claudia shouted at the top of her lungs, which made me want to cover my ears. "Get outta here while you still can!"

"There they are!" A man in a blue uniform shouted.

The huge crowd of Pokemon proved to be too much for him and his friends to handle. Some knocked them to the floor. Some small Pokemon stepped on them. Claudia and I ran past them as soon as the other Pokemon ran ahead of us. We went through so many hallways and rooms, some of the time with people chasing us but Claudia held them off with an attack she called Hyper Beam, it felt like we were running around in circles. We couldn't find an entrance anywhere.

"We have to find an entrance somewhere! There's gotta be a way out!" I cried out, feeling nervous about how lost we were getting.

"This building's probably mighty big. I reckon they made it a certain way so it won't be easy for us Pokemon to get out," Claudia muttered angrily. I could tell she really wanted to get out no matter what. She was extremely worried about her children, and I wondered if maybe they missed her as much as she missed them.

"Hello! I found a way out! It's this way!" The Oddish from the airplane, Viole, shouted from the edge of one hallway.

"Come on!" I told Claudia. Since she's much bigger and heavier than me, I wound up running ahead of her, surprisingly enough.

Finally, finally, finally, after three more long hallways, we managed to dash through an entrance, which proved to be too small for Claudia, but she broke through it anyway, causing a lot of debris to fall all over the place. Despite my continuing need to run away, it felt so absolutely wonderful to finally feel some soft grass beneath my feet, fresh, warm, open air, the wind carrying my scarf-like things, the blue blue sky, trees rustling in the wind, bird type Pokemon flying all over the place...it all felt like I came back home.

A roar suddenly pulled me back into reality. Thinking we got caught, I hid in the nearest bush. But when I peeked out of it, I saw a horrible sight.

A few men have Claudia trapped in a set of nets which shot out from white, gun-like things. The ropes wrapped all around her, preventing her from moving or using her Slash attack from breaking herself free.

"Claudia! No!" I shouted as I watched her roar and struggle and try desperately to break free, but her efforts were fruitless. I couldn't felt but feel so bad for her. She's wanted to get out for so long, and now all her efforts have been thrown away like garbage.

I couldn't help but imagine her children, maybe little baby Tyrannitars smaller than her, crying for their missing mother, begging for her warmth and love and never getting it.

I really wanted to help her. But she told me not to.

"Don't come here! Just get out of here!" She shouted.

"But I don't want to leave you here!" I shouted back while taking care that the men restraining her didn't hear me. Thankfully, they didn't.

"We need reinforcements! This Tyrannitar's ain't lettin' up! We need a tranquilizer right quick!" A man yelled into a black box-like thing he held in his hand.

"You have to, Sylvie! If you stay, they'll catch you, and it's not like you're strong enough to break these ropes! You wanna go back to your family, don't you?! You know you ain't gonna be happy here! Show them that you're alive and well! Keep a good head on your shoulders! Remember who you really are, and don't let anyone else decide things for you! You're your own Pokemon! You ain't nobody's slave! Now go, before they find you! I'll break myself out again! I ain't gonna let them keep me in this place forever! I'll escape or die tryin'!" Claudia shouted.

I wanted to stay and help her. I oh so desperately wanted to stay and help her. She also has a family she needs to go back to. If I reunited with mine and she didn't, I'd feel so bad for her. She'd be so jealous. I already felt bad for her despite being much bigger, older, and stronger than me. But she had a point. If I stayed, she and I would suffer the same fate. We'd be stuck here forever, used as guinea pigs for experiments in a land we're not familiar with. We'd be used as tools for human curiosity. I'm also not strong enough to break her free, and if I stayed, the men really would catch me even though I'm faster than them. I've tried my attacks on nets like those before. It didn't work, so Claudia was right in that department. That, and she's strong. But after this, the men will likely take stronger precautions to keep her locked in that building. She knows that neither of us will be happy in there. She's not happy, but...she was willing to sacrifice her own happiness, her own opportunity to escape, just to let me go. If I went and saved her, her efforts to let me escape would be in vain. I didn't want to be ungrateful, even though I knew that I would probably never see her again.

"Claudia! Thank you for helping me! I'll never forget you and what you've done for me! I'm sure you'll be with your children again!" I shouted before finally making a run for it. That was the last time I ever saw Claudia. I heard her desperate roars even after I ran away, my ears are that hypersensitive.

I didn't have time to take a good look at my surroundings. I knew I was in some unfamiliar place, possibly an unfamiliar land, but I couldn't dwell on that. All I did was run. Run through forests, towns, and huge, grassy fields. The only times I stopped were to eat some berries or go to the bathroom. I knew that if I stopped for even a minute, the men would probably catch me, and I didn't want to let Claudia's heroic efforts to help me escape go in vain. She'd be so disappointed in me, even though in my heart I was disappointed to leave her behind. Sad, even. I wanted to sit down and cry for her and her motherless children, who were probably crying for her to come back. But I knew that if I stopped, I'd leave myself wide open for not just the men to catch me and drag me back there, but some wild Pokemon that I didn't know that'd probably attack me, even kill me, simply because I walked into their precious territory.

After a while, I don't know how long as it was still daytime, I found myself at a beach. I heard about beaches and saw them on TV. Huge piles of sand connected to water that's so voluminous, so wide, so deep, and going so far out that it looks like it touches the sky. I knew from Serena's books and TV that there are islands across the sea, and anyone could get to them by flying or crossing the sea by a boat or a water Pokemon. But I can't fly or swim, and by the looks of it, wherever I was, it seemed really far away from Floccesy Ranch, or even Unova for that matter. I finally sat down to catch my breath even though I dreaded the possibility of staying here forever.

As it turned out though, I wouldn't have to stay here forever.

Once I caught my breath, I saw a huge blue and white sea serpent Pokemon pop out of the water. It didn't go back in right away. All it did was look around. Despite its scary looks, I learned from Claudia that you shouldn't assume Pokemon are scary just because they look it, so I decided to take a plunge. Not into the water.

"Excuse me! Big water Pokemon! Can you hear me?!" I shouted in my loudest voice, hoping to catch its attention.

Thankfully, it did. It slowly swam up to me and bent right before me, even though I hid behind a nearby rock in fright, since this Pokemon was much bigger and much scarier-looking than Claudia could ever be. Despite my fear, this Pokemon was my ticket back home, and I knew I needed to get back home.

"Did you call out to me just now?" The sea serpent Pokemon asked in a very deep and enriching male voice.

"Y-Y-Y-Yeah. I did," I muttered shyly. I knew I had to be brave and talk to him if I wanted to get back home, so I crawled out from the rock and tried to look at him.

"I've never seen a Pokemon like you before. What are you, dear child?" He asked.

"I-I-I'm a S-S-S-Sylveon, and-and-and-and...m-m-m-m-my name is Sylvia. I just escaped from a research lab far away from here. I-I-I'm from the region of Unova, and...since you're able to cross the sea, I was wondering if I could ask you to...take me to...U-U-Unova...if you know where it is, of course..." I asked, stuttering quite a lot. I could feel my long legs shaking, feeling like they were about to buckle at any minute.

"Hm. That's new. I'm a Gyarados, and my name is Magic. It's nice to meet you, Sylvia. I know exactly where Unova is, and I would be more than happy to take you there. Hop on my head, if you will," The Gyarados, Magic, lowered his head all the way down and set it on the sand. Even though I backed away at first, as soon as he said he'd take me, I literally lit up with joy and hopped on his head.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You don't know how much this means to me! I really appreciate this, Magic!" I squealed as he lifted his head up and began crossing the sea.

"It'll take a full day to get there," Magic said.

"Oh. If you get tired, it's okay to rest. I don't want to make you tired."

"It's alright. We Gyarados can handle a full day at sea. We are very strong and versatile creatures. We're even capable of surviving tropical storms and hurricanes. Now where in Unova do you come from?"

"I'm from a place called Floccesy Ranch."

"Oh my," Magic looked down rather sadly when he heard this. "I'd love to take you there, but I'm afraid I don't know where that is in Unova."

"Oh," I said, feeling a little despondent myself. "But I really appreciate you taking me to Unova at all."

"It's no problem, dear girl. But if you're going to travel back home, you may have to prepare for a rather harsh journey."

"How come?"

"Unova is a continent. It's large, vast, and boundless. There are a great many cities, Pokemon, and people roaming that region. Some trainers are good and kind, whose Pokemon are proud to serve them, while some are cruel and monstrous, who should never have the right to catch a Pokemon at all. You may wind up getting captured and have to serve a trainer at some point in your life, Sylvia. I hope you will fall into good hands regardless, but we Pokemon cannot control who catches us and who doesn't unless we're quick and nimble. But there is one thing you must always remember: all Pokemon are individuals, with their own identities and personalities. Humans may not see this and try to carve you into something that only they want, not acknowledge your own identity. We have our own names, our own wishes, our own dreams, and our own ambitions, but trainers see us differently, and they do not know these things because we cannot tell them, nor do we have any other way of communicating it. No matter what happens to you, don't ever let anyone control you. Remain true to who you are, and never succumb to hardship. You have to endure and fight whatever life throws at you, and find good in whatever you can find."

He said the exact same things Mother and Claudia told me. But I would definitely keep true to those words they said to me. The people at the lab may have evolved me against my will, but I'm still Sylvia, the Eevee from Floccesy Ranch, even if I am a Sylveon now. No matter what, I'd return to my family no matter what.

The journey sure wasn't going to be easy. No, it never was easy. Sometimes I wondered whether I would ever be able to return to my family at all...or if I did return, would they accept me and welcome me back, or cast me away because I'm an unfamiliar creature that they don't know or recognize?

As soon as night fell, I fell asleep on Magic's head, unaware of what path the future would lay before me.


	4. The Beginning of My Journey

Chapter 4: The Beginning Of My Journey

When I woke up, I found that I was on land, not on the sea. I found myself on a dirt path surrounded by grass, both short and tall, and lots of trees. I saw some Pidove fly above me as they purred and sang their faint but distinguishing melodies. It was actually their singing that woke me up in the first place. I saw a Lillipup run into some tall grass, not paying much attention to me. The sky above me was as blue as ever, without any wispy little white clouds in sight.

But that was what was so strange when I woke up. I was on land, not on the sea.

Magic wasn't there.

"Magic?" I called out as I stood up and adjusted my eyes to the light around me.

"Magic? Magic, where are you? Magic!" I called out to him multiple times, but he didn't answer. I knew I thanked him for helping me get back to Unova, but still, it was sad to suddenly meet him and then see that he wasn't there anymore. But I was so glad he took me back to Unova anyway, so perhaps he didn't want any recognition for it.

As soon as I faced the path, however, I could see some houses nearby, so I ran on the path. It wound up leading me to a tiny little town with some quaint houses, many hills, a little park with some benches on it, and a big red and blue building which everyone I knew called the Pokemon Center. Not wanting to be seen, I hid in the nearest bush. I saw some people walking by and some Pokemon running around. I knew that if I wanted to get back to Floccesy Ranch, I couldn't stay here, so when the coast was clear, which took only about a few minutes, I hopped out of the bush and ran out of town.

I came onto another path ringed by trees, donning tall grass and dirt roads like the one I woke up from. I tried not to remain in one place for very long if I was going to try and get back home, so I tried not to focus on anything around me, even though it was very hard and I'm normally very curious in nature, so I'd want to look at everything. Everything was so new, so unfamiliar, so strange. This was new territory for me, so I really wanted to look around some more. But I couldn't, so I continued on, even though I wanted to stay and absorb everything with my big blue eyes.

Soon, I saw yet another town, much bigger and livelier than the one I just came out of. The buildings were higher and bigger, with lots of windows on them, stairs came out of every house, the floor below me was covered with white and cobalt blue tiles, only they weren't completely straight. They all looked really messy and out of place. One building stood out, however. It was completely brown, with some multi-colored flags coming out from some posts. A huge Pokeball was imprinted on the front. But other than the outer exterior, I didn't understand what else was so important about it, especially since I began seeing lots of people of all ages running in there excitedly. I did manage to pick up on their conversations and figure out why they went in there.

"Come quick! A trainer's going to battle one of the gym leaders!" One woman said to her friend.

"Whoa! Seriously?! There hasn't been new trainers challenging them in weeks!" Her friend replied happily, surprised with this new information.

"Where's the battle? In this gym right here?"

"Where else?! This is Striaton City! This is Striaton gym! Where do you think we are?! Opelucid or something?!"

"Let's go and see!"

"I hope the battle is epic!"

"I wonder who this trainer is going to battle?"

"Cilan or Cress or Chili?"

"Man, whoever this trainer is, he or she's got some real guts!"

"Come on! The battle's going to start soon! We don't wanna miss out on it!"

"Hurry up! You're slowing me down!"

"Well excuse ME for being calm, you dim bulb!"

A battle? Inside that building? Why was everyone making such a big deal about it? Becoming curious, I decided to go in when everyone else went inside so I wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. I saw that there are a lot of round, maroon tables surrounded by maroon chairs. Most of them had placemats, napkins, forks, spoons, and empty glass cups on them. But nobody was sitting at them. Instead, all the people crowded around what appears to be a big battlefield, just like the one I used when I was in the lab, only this one didn't have any rocks on it, and it looked very clean. Instead of being brown and dirty, it was deep red and yellow, and there was a Pokeball design right in the middle of it. If what I heard is correct, the town I'm in is Striaton City, not Floccesy Town. I could tell. Floccesy Town looked a little smaller and older, but fresher than this town, so I knew right away that it wasn't my home. I found an opening between two people that overlooked the battlefield so I decided to try and smush myself in there so I could see what was going on.

On both sides of the battlefield were two people. On the left side is a young man with apricot-colored skin, bright green hair with three streaks protruding out from his forehead, and matching green eyes. He had on a long sleeved white shirt underneath a black vest with yellow buttons, a green bow tie, black pants, brown shoes, and what appears to be a white apron covering his pants. Two people were standing behind him, wearing similar outfits, but one kid's hair was fiery red, like Al's fur, and he had red eyes and a red bow tie. The other kid had smooth blue hair, blue eyes, and a blue bow tie. On the right side of the field was a young girl, a bit younger than him but older than Serena. She had long, black hair tied in a long braid with a deep blue ribbon and stunning green eyes, which were darker than the green haired man's light eyes, which are hidden behind a pair of round, coke bottle glasses. She had on a sleeveless tan shirt, black capris, pink and white sneakers, and a purple butterfly necklace around her neck. The butterfly was actually a purple jewel shaped to look like one. The girl looked like she was trying to put on a brave face but is actually very shy inside.

"Whoa. This girl don't look like much."

"Yeah. I have a feeling she's gonna crack before she releases her first Pokemon."

"Cilan's gonna whip her butt for sure."

"Come on. Have some faith. I'm sure she'll come out on top."

"Do your best!"

Cilan? Is that the green haired man's name?

"Hello, challenger! I'm very pleased to be blessed with this wonderful opportunity to battle you! My name is Cilan and I am one of the Striation City gym leaders. Tell me, what is your name?" The green haired man, Cilan, asked in a nice voice, though he sounded very melodramatic and sentimental when he said all of this. The two people behind him looked a little exasperated.

"There he goes again with his overacting," The blue haired man asked with a hand on his face.

"Doesn't he ever loosen up a bit?" The red haired man asked.

"H-H-Hello. I-I-I'm...Rowena. I want to battle...you..." The bespectacled girl, Rowena, said rather shyly, looking more like she wanted to run away than battle.

"Well, Rowena, it's very nice to meet you, and I hope we have an exquisitely delicious battle," Cilan said.

"The battle between Striaton City gym leader Cilan and the challenger, Rowena of Nuvema Town, will begin shortly. Only the challenger is allowed to switch his or her Pokemon at will. Are you ready?" The referee exclaimed. After a short minute, he raised both the flags in his hands into the air. The one in his right hand is green, and the one in his left hand is tan. "Begin!"

"Ladies, first," Cilan said.

Shyly, Rowena pulled out a Pokeball. I had to admit, I cringed at the sight of a Pokeball. It reminded me too much of seeing Bolt get captured by Leonard and my failed attempt to save him even after he got caught. "A-A-Alright. I-I-I-I...choose you! Munna!" Rowena shouted as she threw the Pokeball into the field. A white light shot out from it, and it formed a Pokemon I never saw before. A big, round, cuddly looking pink thing with purple flowers on its body, with stubby little legs, an oval shaped reddish pink spot on its nose, and clear red eyes.

"Munna!" The Pokemon, Munna, squeaked in a very high and cute voice. I couldn't help but think that she was cute.

"A Munna, huh? It looks freshly caught, but that's alright. Lillipup, this one's yours!" Cilan pulled out his own Pokeball and threw it. A Lillipup appeared in front of Munna.

"Munna! Use Psywave!" Rowena commanded, albeit a little hesitantly.

"Mun!" The Muuna shot a thin, purple ray of light at the Lillipup, who managed to dodge it swiftly.

"Lillipup! Use Tackle!" Cilan commanded. Lillipup tried to ram itself against Munna, but the big pink flowery Pokemon managed to dodge it a few times, considering it floats in the air.

"Psywave again!" Rowena shouted. Munna managed to hit Lillipup this time, though the attack didn't look like it did any damage.

"Use Bite!" Cilan commanded. Lillipup managed to jump on Munna and successfully dig his teeth into the pink Pokemon's skin, causing it to squeal in pain.

"Munna! No! Shake it off!" Rowena cried out with her hands on her head as Munna floated around like a crazy maniac to try and shake off Lillipup. Finally, Munna managed to push the rambunctious little Lillipup off of herself. "Use Yawn!"

"Muuuun..." Munna let out a big reddish pink bubble from its mouth.

"Dodge, Lillipup, and use Take Down!" Cilan exclaimed.

Lillipup headed right toward Munna and managed to send it flying, though thankfully she didn't hit any of the walls.

"Use Psywave again!" Rowena commanded passionately. Just as Munna regained her strength, she sent out another Psywave attack, and this time it managed to hit Lillipup. But strangely enough, not only did this beam of light look a lot stronger and thicker this time around, as soon as Lillipup got hit, he started wobbling around like he didn't seem to realize what he's doing.

"Lillipup!" Cilan exclaimed, surprised by this turn of events.

"Hey newbie! That wasn't Psywave! Your Munna just learned Psybeam! Psywave doesn't confuse Pokemon!" The red haired guy exclaimed.

"Wow...Munna learned a new move?" Rowena asked herself, a little confused by this new turn of events.

"Lillipup! Don't give up! Use Bite!" Cilan commanded. However, instead of using the attack as ordered, Lillipup suddenly ran to the side of the gym, hurting itself and falling on its back.

"Now's our chance, Munna! Use Psybeam again!"

"Muuuuun!" With another Psybeam, Munna managed to defeat Lillipup.

"Lillipup is unable the battle. Munna is the winner," The referee said as he pointed a pink flag at Rowena.

"Munna! You did it! You did it!" Rowena cheered as she and Munna did a little victory dance.

"It's not over yet, Rowena. I still have one Pokemon left, though I must say, you and your Munna are getting along exquisitely, just like spices that bring out the flavor of freshly produced ham and steak," Cilan told them, but Rowena didn't seem to be paying attention. "Alright then. Pansage, this one's yours!" Cilan exclaimed as he threw a Pokeball and out came a green and yellow monkey who looks like he has a hat on shaped like broccoli. The tip of his tail looks like a piece of broccoli as well.

"Pansage!" The broccoli monkey Pokemon cried out as he appeared on the battlefield.

"Do you want to keep going, Munna?" Rowena asked her Pokemon friend kindly.

"Mun!" She said, though I wound up translating it as, "Yep!"

"But you got hurt pretty bad. Are you sure you want to keep going?"

"Mun mun munna!" I translated that as "Absolutely! I want to win!"

Rowena smiled. "Alright then."

"Pansage, use Bullet Seed!"

Pansage began shooting a barrage of tiny little glowing, round, yellow seed-like things from its mouth with the force of hailstones.

"Psybeam, Munna!"

"Muuun!" Munna shot its Psybeam to try and knock all the bullet seeds out of the way, which they did, though once the two attacks made contact, they made a cloud of dust appear, which meant that neither attack managed to hit anyone.

"Leech Seed!"

"Pan!" Pansage spit out a brown seed, and it attached itself to Munna. Once it made contact, green vines appeared and trapped Munna inside. After that, Munna glowed a reddish purple color, and it squealed like it was trapped in a cage.

"Munna, no!" Rowena shouted, surprised by the change in the situation.

"Use Lick!" Cilan commanded.

"Paaaaaan..." Pansage grabbed Munna and gave it a very sloppy looking lick right on her face, and he sure left a big, hefty trail of saliva slithering down her face. I couldn't help but feel disgusted at how audacious that green broccoli monkey's attack was. I'd definitely hate it if some random Pokemon licked me like that.

"Psybeam again!" Rowena commanded.

"MUUUN!" With resolve and gusto, as soon as Pansage stopped licking it, a beam of light shot right out of the oval on Munna's forehead, sending the green and yellow vegetable monkey flying toward the wall. But this didn't stop the Leech Seed from sapping some of Munna's energy.

"Don't give up, Pansage! Use SolarBeam!" Cilan exclaimed.

"Saaage!" Pansage cupped its hands at the broccoli thing on its head, and a yellow light appeared on it and stayed there for about a minute. Then, once it was big enough, Pansage took it off of the broccoli on its head, aimed it at Munna, and the light became a full on beam that shot right at Munna. Because of the Leech Seed, Munna could hardly move, and there wasn't time for her to dodge, so she got hit.

"Muuuuun!"

"No! Munna!"

Sadly, Munna laid there on the ground, unable to continue.

"Munna is unable to battle. The winner is Pansage!" The referee exclaimed as he pointed a green flag at Cilan. Pansage jumped up and down and shrieked with joy while doing so.

Rowena, distraught by Munna's defeat, ran to her fallen partner and cradled her in her arms. "I knew I should have switched you out. You okay?"

"Munna..." Munna squealed, though she actually said, "Yeah. I'm fine."

"You did wonderful. Take a good rest, okay?" Rowena told her as she pulled out her PokeBall and called her back into it. Once Munna returned to her PokeBall, Rowena went back to her place in the field and pulled out another one.

"I still have four Pokemon left, so it's not over yet! I choose you, Purrloin!" Rowena threw another PokeBall, and out came a little tan and dark purple cat creature with big green eyes and big pink markings on its face. I've seen lots of Purrloin before, but none of them were very nice.

"Purrrr!" Purrloin growled in a funny way, though she really said, "Bring it on, bub!"

"AHHHH! A Purrloin?!" Cilan suddenly shouted, his face going pale with fear like he saw a ghost Pokemon or something. "Why do you have a Purrloin of all things on your team?! They're evil! EVIL!"

The blue haired guy and red haired guy both let out sighs of exasperation. "Why am I not surprised? You know how he hates Purrloin," The blue haired guy said.

"Seriously, it was so long ago! He needs to get over it!" The red haired guy said. Cilan definitely looks afraid of Purrloin, so I wondered if something had happened to make him hate Purrloin so much. Those other guys definitely acted like this had happened lots of times before, so maybe something did happen to him long ago.

"Now that it's come to this, I will definitely go all out! Pansage, use Bullet Seed once more!" Cilan exclaimed with courage and gusto in his voice.

"Purrloin! Use scratch to knock them all out!" Rowena commanded. Once the bullet seeds got close, Purrloin got her claws out and began smacking all of the bullet seeds away, even though a few of them did manage to hit Purrloin pretty hard.

"Use Fury Swipes!" Cilan shouted.

"Paaaan!" As soon as Purrloin was finished knocking the bullet seeds away, Pansage, with its claws out, immediately zoomed in on the little cat Pokemon and began scratching it like no tomorrow. Because he came so fast, there was absolutely no time for Purrloin to get away, and because the attacks kept on bombarding her, Purrloin could hardly fight back.

"No! Purrloin!" Rowena yelled as Purrloin fell on the ground, not able to continue fighting. Wow. Pansage really hurt her real good.

"Purrloin is unable to battle! Pansage wins again!" The referee exclaimed.

Rowena called Purrloin back to her PokeBall. "Sorry Purrloin. You did your best, so it's okay," She put Purrloin's PokeBall back in her pocket and pulled out another one. "Alright Oshawott, this one's yours!"

As the PokeBall hit the ground, out came an Oshawott. "Oshaaaa!"

"An Oshawott? Is she nuts?"

"Doesn't she know that grass types are stronger than water types?"

"She must be really stupid."

"Just give it up, you spineless wimp! You're never gonna win!"

"This battle's gonna blow for sure."

"Will you stop jeering at her already? Let's see what she has planned!"

I know grass types are strong against water types, and I was sure Rowena knew this, but they really didn't have to call her stupid and tell her to give up. All those insults were really unnecessary and uncalled for. I really had hoped to see the outcome of the battle. But sadly, I'd never be able to see who won.

"Whoa! Look at that weird Pokemon!"

I looked around the room upon hearing that. It wasn't until I realized that every single person in the gym had their eyes set on me did it dawn on me that I was the weird Pokemon he's talking about. I'd been discovered! Even Cilan, Rowena, those two other guys, and their Pokemon had their eyes on me!

"Wow! I've never seen this Pokemon before!"

"Think it's a new one? My PokeDex says there's no entry on it."

"It looks kinda funny-looking."

"Who cares? I wanna catch it!"

"No! I'm gonna catch it!"

"Are you kidding?! That thing's MINE!"

Once they started charging at me with their PokeBalls in their hands, I promptly dashed out of the gym with all the speed I had in me. I really didn't want to have to suffer the fate Bolt did, and I was already guilt-ridden because I couldn't save him, so I ran as fast as I could. I knew that if I stayed, they'd catch me, and I really didn't want to be caught, so I just continued running, without looking back. I figured if I looked back, I'd end up slowing down, making it easier for them to catch me. I found myself passing right by a fountain, a little building where little kids were playing, a cave which I didn't bother to go into for some reason, a big pond, and a big patch of grass. I found some thick trees nearby, so I hid behind them. Thankfully, the crowd of people didn't see me.

I knew I couldn't stay here, even though they didn't find me, so I found myself running once again. Strangely enough, I ran so far that I wound up in another town, completely different from Striation City, and boy, it sure was different. It looked like everybody painted all over their houses like they were pieces of paper meant to showcase their drawings. It was completely bright and colorful, emphasis on colorful. None of the houses and buildings were one complete, solitary color. Greens, yellows, pinks, blues, reds, purples, every color I could think of was seen in this town. Even the sidewalks and streets had a bunch of funny paintings and drawings all over them. The town itself kinda looked like it came out from a blender considering how colorful and messy the paintings are. One house had a bunch of Pokemon painted on it, like Oshawott, Deerling, Tepig, Snivy, Pidove, Lillipup, etc. Another house had flowers painted all over it like it was a garden. Another house had ocean waves painted on it and a Gyarados popping out from it. It reminded me of Magic, somewhat. I hoped he was doing alright. Another house was completely dark blue, decorated with yellow and white stars, along with a galaxy and a round, full, white moon on it. I found myself entranced and mesmerized by how majestic and artsy and over-the-top colorful this town was. I wanted to stay here. I kept on looking at everything, completely forgetting that I was in full view of the public eye.

"Mommy! Look at that Pokemon! Can I play with it?"

"No! Stay back. We don't know what kind of Pokemon it is, nor where it's been."

Once I came back to reality, I looked around and saw that everyone was staring at me, pointing at me, whispering about me to people next to them, and proceeding to get their PokeBalls out. As soon as I saw that they wanted to try and catch me, I made another dash out of the town. I heard a funny sound as I ran and saw that it came from someone pushing a worm-like thingy in and out, but I didn't bother to ask what it was, as people were trying to chase me again. It wasn't until much later that I learned it was called an accordion.

Without quite realizing it until I stopped, I noticed that I ran into a forest. It became a little dark as I went it, but that was because of the thick trees blocking out the sun. It was still early in the day so I knew it couldn't be night time just yet. But once I finished gasping for breath, I heard my stomach growl and felt it churn, only this time it felt a lot stronger than before. I knew what this meant, especially now that I was too tired and exhausted to keep on running.

"I'm so hungry..." I muttered to myself. I needed food right away. But I've never actually had to find food on my own before, and neither did my siblings. Darien and Vicky always just gave us food when it was breakfast, lunch, and dinner time. I could tell there wouldn't be anyone around to just give me food, so I figured I'd just find some on my own. But what kind of food comes from forests?

Despite my lingering hunger, I persevered and walked all around the forest, hoping maybe I could at least find something. I don't know how long I walked, but I could feel myself getting more and more tired the more I continued to walk. My legs felt like jelly, and I felt like they were going to give out if I walked any farther, even though I knew I had to keep going or else all those people would find me and catch me. I wondered if I even had any energy left. But then I saw three little blue things on a patch of grass. I ambled over to them and touched one of them with my paw. It felt very hard, but it didn't feel completely inedible, so I took it in my paws and dug my teeth into it. I was right. It's not as hard to eat as I expected, so I chewed off a piece. As soon as that piece made its way into my stomach, I felt a mild jolt surge through my body, like all the energy is being given right back to me. Plus, I liked how it tasted, so I ate the rest of it. Immediately, I felt revitalized, but not completely full.

"Wow! These are good! Maybe I should-" I was about to try eating the other two before a purple stinger suddenly flew right at me. I managed to dodge it before it could hurt me, but it sure was scary, and I didn't want to think about what would happen if it actually hit me. I tried to get away, suspecting that it was thrown at me on purpose, until I found myself surrounded by five of the same Pokemon. They're all pinkish maroon bugs with black markings on their faces and bodies, green thoraxes, stubby little black feet, and evil-looking yellow eyes. I didn't like the way they looked at me, and to be honest, I got scared.

"What do you think you're doing, trespassing on our turf and eating some of our food?! You intruder!" One of them exclaimed angrily.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know! Who are you?" I asked, getting more and more scared.

"We're the Venipede gang! We don't tolerate no lurkers, yo! Now what kinda Pokemon are you, huh?" Another one of them asked in a rather strange speech.

"I...I...I..." I found myself stammering and unable to say anything.

"Don't try to deny it! We saw you eat one of our precious Oran berries!" The leader shouted angrily.

"That was yours? I'm sorry! No one told me! I...I was hungry!" I stammered.

"You don't look sorry at all, you vile creature! We oughta teach you a lesson in pain! Venipede, swarm and attack!" The leader shouted as the stingers on their heads glowed in an ugly purple light. Soon, he and his goons tried to assail me.

"Nooooo!" With fear consuming every fiber of my being, I found myself using my Trump Card attack against them, and it worked. I managed to knock them all out. Seeing as this was my chance to escape, I ran again.

"Sorry!" I shouted before running away. But every single one of them woke back up and chased after me.

"Come back here, you beast!"

"You'll pay for messing with the wrong Venipede!"

I really didn't understand why anyone would get so worked up over just one little already eaten Oran berry. It was just food, and I apologized, but why did they accuse me of lying, and why are they still chasing me? Thoughts like that kept running through my head even as I sprinted away. Since there was a lot of trees, I wasn't able to run as fast as I'd liked, even though I did manage to get far enough away from them. However, when I got to this one ring of trees, an extremely high pitched, strident, vociferous, and ear-grating sound literally assailed my ears. It was so loud, I found myself covering my big ears with my paws. I tried to block out the noise, but my ears were too sensitive to muffle the rest of it. I did try to run again, but all of a sudden, something sharp hit my leg, and I could feel it burning from the inside out, like someone had put my leg on a flaming hot grill.

"OWW!" I yelled as I fell on the leafy grass, unable to continue running because of the purple stinger on my leg and the excruciating pain that came right along with it. When I tried to get up regardless, the pain only got worse and I fell back down. The Venipede gang surrounded me and laughed at me upon seeing me lay on the grass. Both the pain from the stinger and my fear consumed me, though for some reason, I found enough courage inside me to say something to them, even though they kept laughing at me and treating me like I was the worst thing they ever saw.

"Look! I said I'm sorry I ate your Oran berry! No one told me it was yours, and I was hungry! Can't we just forget about this and move on? I didn't do it to spite you! Honest!" I told them. All of a sudden, one Venipede suddenly rolled at me and knocked me against a tree.

"Liar! Don't think you're so sweet and innocent! We don't trust outsiders! This is what you get for trespassing on our turf, claiming something that's not yours, and for getting in our way!" The leader exclaimed in a maligned manner.

"Yeah! And for bein' so weird and freaky, yo!" The other one proclaimed boldly with a cackling laugh.

"What? You gonna cry, you big baby? Go on! Cry already! You can't even fight back on your own so you better cry!" Another one of them sneered irritably.

I couldn't move. I couldn't go on. The pain extended from my leg into my body. I could feel my entire body burning on the inside, like someone had pressed a blazing hot iron on my skin. I managed to bite the stinger and yank it out, but it didn't make the pain go away. I thought I was done for until I saw a red flame come out of the trees.

Only it wasn't a flame. It wasn't even moving. It was red hair shaped like a flame belonging to a monkey Pokemon that looked a lot like a Pansage, only red instead of green.

"Pansear! Use Flame Burst!" A man's voice shouted from the trees. It sounded much older than all of the Striation Gym Leaders combined, but not too old.

"Pansear!" The red monkey Pokemon, Pansear, appeared behind the Venipede and shot a ball of fire at them. But once it made contact with the grass, it exploded, sending a lot of the Venipede flying. Right after that, a human appeared. He had long blonde hair that went to his chin that's covered by a big red hat. He had deep brown eyes and was wearing black and red clothing. In his hand was what appeared to be a rope with a little PokeBall at the end of it. As the smoke faded, I saw that all of the Venipede have a lot of deep brown burn marks on them. They sure got roasted pretty good. The man suddenly approached me and cradled me in his arms.

"It's okay, little one. They won't hurt you anymore," The man told me kindly. I didn't even resist when he carried me. I did, however, look at the Venipede gang, who got back on their stubby little feet.

"Noooo! It's that Pokemon ranger guy!"

"He's got that fire monkey with him! We're done for, boss!"

"Retreat! We gotta retreat! We're screwed, man!"

"Run awaaaaaaay!"

"Stop stealing my lines, you spotlight stealer!"

As soon as they got back on their feet, they squealed with fear and ran away as fast as they could, not wanting to deal with the man's Pansear again. From the looks of it, it seems Venipede are weak against fire types like Pansear. That Flame Burst attack sure did a big number on them, and considering how they ran away, which was a smart move on their part, they'd probably be in big trouble if they tried to fight back. Once the Venipede were gone for good, the Pokemon ranger man set me down on the grass and looked at the wound on my leg. It wasn't until he touched me on my body did I realize I was shivering.

"Oh dear. They poisoned you with Poison Sting. Good thing I have just what you need," The man mused to himself before he dug into his pocket and pulled out a cute little pale pink, heart shaped berry with two green leaves coming out of it.

"Eat this. It's a Pecha berry. It'll cure the poison in an instant. Go on, try it," The man prodded as he showed it to me. At first, I was hesitant to eat it. I felt bad about eating the Venipede's Oran berry, and I figured the Pecha berry was his and was afraid he'd attack me if I ate it. But he kept on persisting, so in the end, I slowly and hesitantly ate the entire berry. He was right. As soon as I ate it, the pain in my body went away like it was never there at all. He then pulled a yellow and orange thing out of his pocket and began spraying it on my leg. It hurt a bit at first, but as my leg got used to it, it didn't feel all scratchy anymore.

"This is a super potion. It'll heal your wounds. Stay still, little one," The man said as he sprayed the stuff on me. The Pansear kept on looking at me as the man took care of me.

"Don't worry. Vince is really good at his job. He never lets a sick and injured Pokemon out of his sight unless he makes sure it's taken care of," The Pansear told me in a low voice, even though it's higher than his trainer's.

"Is that his name? Vince?" I asked.

"Yep. Mine's Joli-Couer, though he doesn't know that," The Pansear, Joli-Couer, told me.

"I'm Sylvia. Thanks for saving me," I told him gratefully.

"You're welcome. Those Venipede are always causing trouble. They're just a bunch of petty bullies who always want everything to be theirs. Don't take it personally, girlie," Joli-Couer explained. Soon, the pain in my leg disappeared and Vince put a bandage on it.

"Good. That should do it," Vince said as he set me down. When I put my weight on my leg, it didn't hurt like before. He sure did a good job of curing the poison and taking care of my leg. I wished I could thank him, but I can't talk so I don't know how. But Joli-Couer got it so I didn't mind. One thing did pick at my brain, however.

"You're not gonna ask what Pokemon I am?" I asked Joli-Couer.

"I'm curious, but that won't matter to me. You need to know that kind of stuff in order to take care of someone who's in need. You better run along now. It'll be dark soon, and you'll be in a big pickle if you don't get out of here," He told me.

I nodded. "Thanks again, Joli-Couer and Vince! Bye-bye!" I shouted before I ran into the bushes, leaving Vince and Joli-Couer behind.

But I didn't know how to get out. I didn't know if there was a way out of the forest. Thankfully, I found a street that lead to a bridge, and after that, a new friend.

"Hello! Hello! Come here!" A girly voice called for me, and I looked around to find that it came from a big, fluffy, white thing that looked like a cloud with orange, oval-shaped eyes and big leaves coming out from her sides. The Pokemon gestured me to approach her for some reason. Even though I hesitated a bit, I did so in the end. Thankfully, my fears dissipated when she handed me three Oran berries.

"I can tell you're hungry as an Ursaring, so I'll share a lot of my berries with you," The Pokemon said as she handed the berries to me.

"But these are yours. I can't just take them. That's why the Venipede attacked me," I told her, feeling bad about just eating her berries.

"It's no big deal. I have plenty more where that came from, so giving three up won't make a difference. Besides, I saw how hungry you were when you ate that berry earlier, and I think the Venipede are stupid to just claim everyone's an intruder with malicious intentions. This forest belongs to everyone, the food included. They shouldn't be so domineering and impertinent. Go ahead, eat them! Oh! I'm Ella by the way, and I'm a Cottonee!" The Cottonee, Ella, explained kindly.

"Thank you for the berries. I'm Sylvia, a Sylveon," I bowed gratefully before eating the berries. For the first time since earlier today, I finally felt full. "I really appreciate this."

"It's fine. I never turn my back on someone in need. I would have loved to help fight off those Venipede, but I'm a grass type and I'm weak against their poison type attacks. Sorry. This is Pinwheel Forest by the way, in case you don't know where you are. So are you from a new region by any chance? I've never seen a Pokemon like you before," Ella told me, then became curious about my appearance.

"I'm actually from Unova, really. Some people took me from my home and evolved me against my will to see if something they found could evolve me into a Sylveon," I told her.

"Oh my. Your family must be so worried."

I couldn't help but stare at the grass below me wistfully. "Yeah. They must be. I actually want to go home and tell them I'm okay."

"Where did you come from again?"

"Floccesy Ranch."

"Hmm...I'm sorry but I don't know much about it. All I've heard from the humans is that it's really far from here."

"I figured as much," I couldn't help but feel my spirits dampen a bit.

"If you want to at least get out of here, if you go straight and stay on this road here, it'll lead you to Skyarrow Bridge. It's a beautiful bridge that's long and lets you see the ocean. If you cross that, it'll take you to a wonderful place called Castelia City," Ella explained as she pointed to the road.

I found myself standing right on my feet as she told me. "Thanks for the info and the food. I really appreciate it. Goodbye, Ella!"

"Goodbye to you too, Sylvia! I hope you can be with your family soon!" Ella waved goodbye to me with her leafy hands as I left.

But admittedly, I didn't leave Pinwheel Forest right away. Just as I saw the place leading to Skyarrow Bridge, I couldn't help but fixate my gaze on a sight that made my heart feel heavy with sorrow. I saw a big, green and yellow bug Pokemon lovingly take care of four little Sewaddles. She was making leafy clothes for them, and the Sewaddles-I think they were her kids-looked so happy to receive them. Then the Pokemon hugged them all and squeezed them like she never wanted to let them go. It reminded me of when I was with Mother and Father, and how me and some of my siblings-namely Lucretia and Yuki-loved cuddling with them whenever they would let us and wanted to stay safe in their loving arms forever and ever. We would cuddle by the warm fire in the fireplace or on the couch or on Darien's bed or in the field of purple flowers or anywhere else we were allowed to lay around on. I wondered if Bambi was doing okay. Oh, how I missed playing with my best friend Bambi! I wondered if he was worrying about me and crying his eyes out because of my absence. I also wondered about Serena. She usually has huge fits if anything, even the smallest little thing, was out of place, so I couldn't help but miss her as well, even with her strange ways. Then I looked down at the collar she made me. What surprised me was that even though I was in that science lab for a long time, they never took it off of me. I never did find out the reason why, though I was lucky I still had it on me. Maybe it'd be easier for my family to identify me, since they've seen me wear it.

I stared so long and was so lost in my head that I didn't realize that the big green bug Pokemon saw me until she smiled and waved at me. Some of her kids saw me and waved at me too. I couldn't help but wave back. I thought it'd be rude to not respond, so I waved and went on my way. It didn't take too long for me to reach the place that would supposedly lead me to the Skyarrow Bridge. Fearing that those people from before would be able to spot me and try to chase me, I dashed like the wind and didn't look back. Finally, I found my way to Skyarrow Bridge. There were lots of things I didn't know back then. I was especially unaware of the fact that being on Skyarrow Bridge would brand one of the saddest memories into my brain, and it would stay there forever.


	5. Life Is Unfair

Chapter 5: Life Is Unfair

At first, I thought Skyarrow Bridge was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.

The bridge was big, vast, long, and it crossed the ocean. I couldn't believe there were bridges as big as this one in the world. It was big and bright blue, which made the sky above it look a lot darker than it was. There's another bridge right under it, which is MUCH bigger, and only reserved for cars and trucks only. I've seen cars around Floccesy Ranch a few times, and that's the word Darien and Vicky used to describe them. Not only was it big, but it was loooooong. So long, it looked like it went on forever. I wondered if I would ever make it to this Castelia City in time. But I knew that if I stayed here, those people would find me and catch me, so I made like a Sewaddle and ran. Unlike before, I could run as freely as I could without succumbing to pain. I felt grateful to Vince and Joli-Couer for saving me from the Venipede gang, so I figured getting to Castelia City would serve as a good thanks to them, even though I probably won't ever see them again.

As I ran on the bridge, I couldn't help but feel like a Pidove, flying in the sky, even though I technically have no wings. The breeze felt great running against my body, and I felt light as a feather. As I ran, I also saw some beautiful white bird Pokemon flying across the bridge, with black webbed feet, long orange beaks, and pale blue breasts. I wished I could talk to them and ask them if they knew where Floccesy Ranch was. Since bird type Pokemon fly all over the place, maybe they'd know where Floccesy Ranch is. Not only that, there were very few people on the bridge, even though that'd only make me easier to spot. But I didn't pay much attention to them. However, before I got to those really tall things, I stopped and saw someone looking down off the edge of the bridge on the right side. A girl much older than Serena but much younger than Vicky or Darien. I think she was their oldest child's age. About sixteen or so. She had very long black hair that stretched down to her lower back. It was carried by the wind and flowed up and down with the rhythm of the breeze. She had on a short sleeved orange shirt, tattered and dirty blue jeans, and was barefoot.

I couldn't help but feel curious at the sight of her so I stopped running. I decided to get a little bit closer to her to get a better look. She didn't seem to even notice me. She didn't even take one little glance at me. She just kept staring and staring at the water below her. Upon closer inspection, I saw some rips in her orange shirt. One of the sleeves looked like it was about to fall right off. Her left knee looked like it had been skinned really bad, and her right eye is a very ugly shade of purple, like a pruny raisin. I remembered that Konoha loves raisins, but everyone else in my family hated them and called them ugly, so that's why I thought about raisins. But the girl also looked really really sad, like something terrible had happened to her. I wondered what had happened to her. Considering all of her injuries, she looked like she had been beaten up by some bad people or attacked by bad Pokemon. But I also wondered why she didn't have any shoes on. It's not socially appropriate to walk around outside without any shoes and socks on. I heard Vicky tell Serena this lots of times. Bambi's heard it way before I was born, when Serena was much younger. I figured this would be a good time to cheer the girl up or maybe even help her.

Sadly, I would be bereaved of that opportunity in the absolute worst way possible.

As soon as I got close to her, with a great leap, she jumped. I tried to grab her, but I didn't react fast enough. She jumped.

Right off the edge of the bridge.

With a big splash, she got enveloped by the huge ocean of water below the second bridge.

I couldn't believe what I saw at first. That girl literally just jumped off a huge bridge right into the water. So many questions kept running through my mind. Why did she just do that? Why would she do that? Does she know how to swim? She'll drown if she doesn't know how! As soon as that thought entered my mind, I knew something had to be done. That girl could be drowning right now, especially if she doesn't know how to swim! I didn't know whether she could swim or not, but there could be all kinds of bad Pokemon down there, so I had to get some kind of help. I figured nobody would be able to understand me since I was a Pokemon, but I had to save that girl!

"HELP! Someone, help! A girl jumped off the bridge! Someone go save her!" I yelled and yelled as loud as I could, even though to humans it only came out as "Sylve! Syl syl sylve! Sylve Sylveon!" Much to my horror, however, there was hardly anyone on the bridge, and the ones that I could see were too far away. I didn't want to leave the spot I was in out of fear that I'd forget where she jumped off. Finally, I saw a man and a woman coming toward me. Without any hesitation, I ran over to them. Admittedly, they were surprised when I approached them so suddenly.

"You gotta come help! A girl jumped off the bridge and is drowning!" I cried out desperately.

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" The woman asked, confused.

"Beats me. I've never seen it before," The man said.

They couldn't understand a word I said. I knew this already. But soon, I bit on the man's pant leg and tried to drag him to the place where the girl jumped. He didn't take this too well.

"Hey! Get off me, you!" The man angrily swung his leg and managed to force me off of him. But I knew I couldn't give up. I ran behind him and pushed on the back of his legs.

"I think this little one's trying to tell us something," The woman told him, finally getting the idea somewhat.

"No way! This thing's just messing with us! Come on, Dana! Let's get to Castelia already! I'll be late for my appointment!" The man said as he angrily stormed off. The woman looked at me sadly, then left.

"NO! Please, listen to me! She's drowning! Get someone to help her!" I tried to go after them, but they got too far away for me to catch up with them.

I felt sad, but I knew that the minute I gave up, the faster that girl would die if I didn't get help, so I tried approaching every single person who came onto the Skyarrow Bridge. None of them listened to me. Some of them even hit me and kicked me aside.

"Get outta my way, you beast!"

"Quit bothering me, you pest!"

"Go away!"

"Leave me alone!"

"What's your problem? Are you stupid or something?"

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?!"

"Hey! Watch it!"

"I'll be late for work if you don't get out of my way!"

As soon as I got back up after being kicked by that last person, to my horror, the sun was starting to set. The sky had turned into a heterogenous mixture of orange, purple, blue, and yellow. As much as I liked the sight, however, I knew that if that girl wasn't saved, she could drown. Finally, two men in blue uniforms came onto the bridge and I approached them, literally crying.

"Please! Please, save her! I'm begging you!" I cried.

"Huh? What kind of Pokemon is this?" The first man asked.

"Dunno. Could be a new one," The second man said.

I knew that if I couldn't tell them about the girl jumping off the bridge, I might as well make some kind of gestures to at least make them figure it out themselves, so I tried to use my arms as much as possible to convey the fact that the girl jumped.

"Wait. I think this Pokemon's trying to tell us something!" The first man said.

"Yeah. What is it, little guy? You hungry?" The second man asked, actually looking interested in what I had to say.

In response to his question, I shook my head. I hopped to the edge of the bridge and pointed to it five times with my paw.

"Bridge? Is that it? Bridge?" The first man asked.

I nodded, then jumped five times.

"Jump? Bridge...jump...jump off the bridge?" The second man asked.

I nodded again. He's getting the message! Then I pointed to the water. The two men came and looked down at the ocean.

"The ocean?" The first man asked, looking confused.

"Wait! I think it's saying someone jumped off the bridge!" The second man exclaimed.

"YES!" I cried out and nodded my head as vigorously as possible, happy that they finally got the message.

"Did someone jump off the bridge?" The first man asked. I nodded, and gestured them to follow me to the place where the girl jumped. It's a good thing I didn't forget the exact spot where she jumped. Once I showed them where she jumped, one guy pulled out a walkie talkie and said something like, "Get the diving crew out to Skyarrow Bridge! Someone jumped off and is likely in the water! Get ambulances, too!"

Soon, huge white buses with glowing red lights that made a funny _REEEEE_ sound came around, along with white cars with glowing red and blue lights that made the same sound. Then, lots of people in the same blue uniforms arrived on the scene and sent out their Pokemon. They were all water Pokemon mostly, which is good because they can go underwater and maybe even save her. I didn't dare leave the scene. I was desperate to know if she was alright. I wanted to see her safe and sound. Soon, night fell and the sky became as dark as Moondancer's fur, with a full moon to match along with the glittery stars that lit up it's farthest reaches, though the lights on the cars kept Skyarrow Bridge lit right up. I couldn't help but feel that those red and blue lights felt rather scary and blinding to me, so I decided to not pay any attention to them. All of a sudden, a part of the ocean glowed in a red light.

"Oh! That must be Tentacruel! He must have found something!" The first man exclaimed as he saw the red light coming from the ocean.

The big jellyfish Pokemon with the long blue nose and the scary face, Tentacruel as the man called it, appeared from the water with its big grey tentacles looking like they're carrying something. It was dark so I couldn't see right off, but Tentacruel's glowing red things made it easier to make out what he brought to the surface. In his tentacles was...the girl who jumped.

"Serperior! Use Vine Whip to pull her up!" The second man exclaimed as he threw a PokeBall on the bridge. Out came a very big pale green snake with big, gleaming yellow eyes. I could tell from the way he looked that he's definitely the final evolution of Snivy. Without saying anything, Serperior extended his vines toward Tentacruel. The giant jellyfish Pokemon very gently uncoiled his tentacles and allowed Serperior's vines to coil around the unconscious girl so he could pull her up. Finally, Serperior placed the unconscious, soaking wet girl onto the bridge.

"Thanks, Tentacruel! Return!" The first man said as he called his Tentacruel back to his PokeBall. I exhaled a sigh of relief, thinking the girl was safe and sound. But soon, I would be proven dead wrong.

"Please, officer! Let us in! My daughter might be here!" A hysterical woman's voice called out as she tried to get past some uniformed men, along with a man by her side who looked very anxious and desperate judging from the very pained look on both of their faces.

"Officer! Our daughter Katie wrote this suicide note saying she was gonna kill herself by throwing herself off the Skyarrow Bridge! Tell me you found her safe and sound!" The man exclaimed desperately as he showed the man a crumpled up piece of paper.

Katie? Was that the girl's name? They're her parents? She wrote that she wanted to kill herself? Is that why she threw herself off the bridge? Why would she do that? I couldn't help but wonder. But I was too focused on watching one man in a white suit who came out of the ambulance run to the girl and put two fingers on her neck. As soon as he did that, his expression turned very dejected. He looked up at the first man and shook his head grimly. I didn't understand what this meant until the woman burst in front of them and found the girl-Katie-lying on the bridge unconscious and unmoving.

"Katie! Oh my God!" The woman shouted as she tried to grab her daughter, but the first uniformed man pushed her away.

"I'm sorry, miss...but Katie...she's...dead. The paramedic just checked," The man told her sadly.

As soon as she heard that, the woman fell to her knees and screamed like a howling Pokemon. Her husband tried to pull her up, but she wouldn't listen. I felt my heart shatter the minute he said those words. She died? She died after all? Was what they said true? That Katie really succeeded in killing herself? What hurt me the most, and what would continue to hurt me long afterward, was the fact that...even though I was there, even though I tried to stop her, and even though I tried so hard to get her the help that she needed...I failed to save her.

It was my fault she died. She could have been saved if I had been able to communicate the situation to everyone better.

Just like the woman, I burst into a paroxysm of tears too. But instead of falling to my knees, I ran to another part of Skyarrow Bridge and buried myself in my front paws and cried and cried and cried. Why did she kill herself? She shouldn't have done that! And worst of all, she needed me yet I couldn't even save her! How could I be so slow, so stupid, so dim-witted, and so downright incompetent? I could have been able to stop her from throwing herself off the bridge, but I didn't, even though I tried so hard! Just like how I was unable to save Bolt from getting captured by that trainer Leonard, I failed to save an innocent girl from throwing herself off a bridge, only now she's dead and never coming back! She'll never get to live or catch Pokemon or make friends or fulfill her dreams or anything! I cried even harder upon realizing the differences between dying and getting captured.

After I finished crying, I noticed that many of the cars and people had left. There weren't as many as before. But I saw a crumpled up piece of paper just about two feet away from me. Katie's father might have thrown it. Curious but extremely weak and exhausted, I walked over to it, smoothed it out, and looked at it. Pokemon can't read, I know. I didn't understand what it said until the first man, the first police officer, picked it up right out of my paws and read it.

"_No one gives a Hoothoot about me. No one cares. No one loves me. No one is willing to save me from my trouble. Instead, they blame me for causing it all. They all think I'm a nuisance, a burden, a parasite who sucks the life out of everyone and constantly causes trouble to everyone around me...and they're right. If they hated me so much, they shouldn't have continued lying to me and playing me like a fool. I know you hate me the most, Mom and Dad. That's why I didn't bother telling you about those guys who jumped me and attacked me in that alley. I know for a fact that you wouldn't lift a finger to help me or save me. Nobody else will, even if I told them. You and them never believe anything I say anyway, so I might as well get myself out of the picture so you can be happy. I'm gonna jump off the Skyarrow Bridge and die. That's what you want, isn't it? Fine. Don't try to stop me and convince me to live by telling me the same lies you told me over and over again. I may be stupid, but I know when to give up. Good riddance, you dirty hypocrites. P.S. With me gone, you can go hook up with that woman you've been treating like a queen, Dad. You like her better than Mom or me, so quit hanging around and go with her already! It's not like I care anymore!"_ The police officer read it all out loud, then handed it to someone in a brown coat.

She killed herself because she thought nobody cared about her? She was attacked and didn't tell anyone because she was afraid nobody would believe her or they'd blame her for the attack instead? That made me cry even harder and louder than before. She could have told me, even though I was just a Pokemon. I could have helped her! I would have believed what happened to her! I would have been able to save her from whatever happened to her! But I couldn't even save her from throwing herself off the bridge! I cried so hard, I didn't even notice Serperior looking down at me until he spoke to me.

"Why do you cry, child?" Serperior asked in a low but soothing and gentle voice. Even though I liked the sound of it, it didn't make me feel any better.

"It's all my fault! I tried to save her but I couldn't, and even though I tried so hard, Katie died because I was slow and stupid and didn't act fast enough! I could have saved her but I didn't, just like how I couldn't save my big brother from getting caught by that trainer!" I screamed through my howling and crying. But I did feel Serperior's tail gently stroking my back.

"Do not blame yourself. You had no idea any of this was going to happen. No one did. No one but she. I'm sure you did your best. Besides, even if you did save her, she might have rejected your efforts and tried to throw herself off another time. People who wish to end their lives feel that no one listens to them or believes them or cares about them to save them from their anguish and suffering, and it's becoming a big problem in this day and age," Serperior told me.

"I...I...I could have been her friend! I would have...helped her or cared about her!" I bawled again.

"People who commit suicide are convinced that their suffering is eternal and that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, even though it is right in front of them. They reject the saviors and themselves with the belief that it is all a lie, an illusion to drag them into more hardship. They only see flaws in themselves based on how the majority view them, and become convinced that their existence only creates problems for the world. I only pray that in the future, you do not reject the kindness that people offer you or choose the option of suicide. Do not follow Katie's example, as far too many have been doing," Serperior told me. "Now, go to Castelia City, child. It is very late."

I could barely move. All the crying sapped the energy right out of me, but I decided to listen to him and literally drag myself to Castelia City. My legs felt heavy again, like someone had duct taped bricks onto them on both sides. So did my broken heart. I didn't even look ahead of me. I just continued to look down, completely burdened by the guilt of being unable to save Katie from her self-inflicted doom. I don't even remember walking too far. The only time I looked up was when I saw a bench and decided to crawl onto it. Once I got it, I fell right asleep, even though I did not have the most pleasant of dreams. I dreamt about never being reunited with my family or recognized by them. I did tell myself that if I ever did go back to Floccesy Ranch, I hoped it wouldn't involve going back to Skyarrow Bridge.

Soon, I found myself waking up, and was extremely awestruck by what I just woke up to. I saw huge, tall buildings that looked like they could touch the highest clouds. People ran all over the place in weird but plain looking outfits and holding briefcases. There's a huge TV screen on one big building but I didn't pay attention to what the people on it were talking about. I didn't see any grass or fields or flowers or anything. The ground was grey, and it felt very hard when I hopped off the bench. But what also surprised me is the huge amount of people in one place. They all kept going about their own way, minding their own business. None of them noticed me, and they looked too busy to really care. I also saw some Pokemon running around too, like Pidoves pecking the streets for some bread crumbs. I decided to explore the place since I knew it wouldn't do to stay in the same place for very long. I couldn't believe how big everything was. Big buildings, big boats, big streets, big crowds of people, everything seemed big. But in a way, this place also felt rather hard and cold. No grass, no fields, no flowers, nothing even remotely related to nature lived here.

I did, however, find myself walking down one alley between two big buildings. I saw a big red place which people who walked in said was a cafe. I wasn't interested in going in, as I knew I had more important things to do, but something stopped me from leaving my spot. I didn't move even as a purple and white rat Pokemon scurried right past me to crawl into a trash can. What kept me from leaving the front of the cafe was someone with a very beautiful and serene little voice, singing a song.

This song would stay with me forever as soon as I heard it, not just because of how genuine and serene it sounded, but the lyrics.

"_Should I ever trip, how should I get right back up?_

_It's just a thought…I simply asked while absent minded…_

_There wasn't a single lie in my shattered past,_

_but will truth lie in the future I envision?_

_Everyone is born alone, and that is exactly why_

_we try to live together with others._

_I firmly hold the strength to live and its meaning_

_that you taught me deep in my heart._

_Let's start here so from now on_

_everything will one day bloom with a flower of hope._

_We come to learn what is truly important during painful times._

_They're our emotions we can't untie from…like a tangled necklace._

_We were always conscious about what happened around us…_

_But living true to oneself is how_

_we found happiness._

_Giving up isn't difficult, as opposed to continuing walking._

_But even so, the dreams we envision are vivid and will never fade._

_These hands will shiver in fear when I have to open the next door._

_During that time, when I think of you, I become stronger._

_I always pretended I never saw anything. But there is courage and loneliness._

_Fumbling around, I draw them in._

_One day, I want to make the flower of hope in my heart gently bloom._

_Together with you._

_Hoping our smiles would be brighter tomorrow than they are today,_

_I carve this path deeply in my heart._

_Let's try walking forward bit by bit and keep our sight high._

_Let's start, from here on_(1)."

The touching lyrics, the serene melody, and the way the singer delivered the song with her voice all resonated with me deeply. It was like it was teaching me to never give up and keep on going, even when times seem hard, just like Serperior had told me just last night, along with the messages that the other lyrics said. Soon, when the song ended, I walked away and found myself singing the song. I was surprised at how I was able to remember both the melody and the lyrics without messing up. But as I sang, I did manage to hear a voice saying something behind me.

"That green haired Pokemon sure does know how to sing."

I left the alley and got to this round spot with a fountain in the middle, where some Pidove were busy happily and contentedly giving themselves a bath. I didn't feel like disturbing them by asking them if they knew where Floccesy Ranch was, though that was mostly because I was still too deeply touched by the song. I did, however, see a basket full of berries laid out on someone's porch in a basket, with a little sign that said in blue marker, "Free berries for Pokemon!" There were some Oran berries and Pecha berries, along with some I hadn't seen before. My stomach growled at the sight of them, which made me realize I hadn't had breakfast yet. At first, I was a little weary about eating the berries out of fear that someone, like that nefarious Venipede gang, would pop out and attack me, but I was hungry, so I had an oran berry, a red berry, and a green berry. I liked them all, though the green berry tasted bitter and I didn't quite like it, but they did fill me up, so I didn't complain. But soon, I heard a voice coming from one of the big TV screens on the buildings. This time, I paid attention, because it mentioned the discovery of a new Pokemon: Sylveon.

Me. I'm a Sylveon.

"It has come to our attention that a brand new evolutionary form of the Pokemon Eevee has been discovered by scientists indigenous to the new region of Kalos. Its name is Sylveon, and as of this broadcast, only two Sylveon exist in this whole entire world. However, over the past few months, scientists in Kalos have studied the Sylveon they have in captivity, and according to their ongoing research, they've discovered a brand new Pokemon type classification: Fairy, and they have officially designated Sylveon as the first ever fairy type Pokemon. There's also confirmation on the existence of fairy type elements in other Pokemon, such as Jigglypuff, Marill, and Gardevoir, so based on their information, they will be reclassified as fairy types, along with keeping their original designated type classifications. Scientsists have also discovered that Sylveon can use a brand new attack it can learn which they have titled Moon Blast, in which the Pokemon conducting the attack draws power from the moon and unleashes a multicolored beam of light at their opponent, decreasing the opposer's attack."

What? Only TWO Sylveon in the entire world? A new type? Fairy?Then it dawned on me. I'm the second born Sylveon in the whole entire world! And not only that, I'm a fairy type Pokemon! A brand new type classification!

"Look! A Sylveon!" I was so focused on the fact that I'm the second born Sylveon EVER in the whole entire world that I didn't even notice people taking notice of me. Soon, everyone suddenly decided to flock toward me with full intention of catching me. I ran as fast as I could. I saw an entrance north of the fountain so I decided to sprint over there at full speed. I don't know how far I ran or how fast, but after a while, I did manage to outrun them, so I thought I was safe...only to realize that I wound up in a place where a brutal sandstorm was going on.

I couldn't even open my eyes, lest even the smallest amount of sand got in and burned my eyes. I couldn't see where I was going at all. Huge dust clouds of sand blew from every single direction possible. I tried covering my eyes with the long and flowy protrusions, but they didn't help me see anything, so I basically walked in wherever I was walking completely blind. I wish I could describe what I saw, but how can anyone describe anything if they can't even see anything, especially if huge wind storms full of burning hot sand can get in your eyes and make things worse in the long run? I shouldn't have been so reckless. But I don't think those humans who chased me had the consideration to warn me about this sand storm or tell me how to prepare for it. I was surprised I was even able to keep my feet on the ground. Even though I didn't see anything, I could definitely feel the sand pounding on every part of my body as though the dust clouds were made of potatoes, the sand below my feet felt hot like the stove when it was turned on, and every step I took my feet felt like they were on fire. I even tripped on some rocks a few times. I did try to get back up and keep going, but I was hopelessly lost. I couldn't see where I was going nor could I tell which way led to someplace safe. I couldn't tell whether I was on the right trail to another city or further and further into the sandstorm. I thought I was done for until I felt something grab me.

Once I felt it, however, I didn't feel the sand pounding against my little body anymore, even my face. I undid my long and flowy protrusions and opened my eyes to find that no sand is getting in them. I could see just fine! But when I did open them, I almost yelped because I saw three Pokemon in front of me. One of them is a big one with fiery red fur with a brown mask-like thing on its eyes, which are big and round, with a huge mouth fully showing off its pearl white teeth. Its eyebrows are actually yellow and red flames that look thin. There's three brown marks on its belly, and long red arms with brown fists. The other two Pokemon are much smaller, but still bigger than me, with the same bright red fur, only their limbs are stubby, with three little fingers and toes on each hand and foot, yellow eyebrows, yellow markings on their bellies, and a face that's not as scary. I did see a little fire at the base of some sticks, lighting up whatever I was in. As fearful as I was, I knew I couldn't judge these Pokemon by their looks. Claudia looked scary and frightening, but she cared for her children and sacrificed her own freedom to make sure I escaped, so...I had to take this chance.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Oh! You're awake, I see! Thank goodness! I was beginning to get worried," The big Pokemon said in a nice, lady-like voice.

"Hey Mama! She's awake! Ya see?" One of the littler Pokemon exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down as he did.

"I see, Davey. Now calm down. She needs her rest," The bigger Pokemon told her son, Davey, kindly.

"Ummm...who are you all, exactly?" I asked.

"We forgot to introduce ourselves, didn't we? How rude of us! Sorry for all the excitement, dearie. I'm a Darmanitan, and my name's Danali. These are Darumaka and my children, Davey and Dolan," The Darmanitan, Danali, introduced herself and her children, Davey and Dolan.

"I'm Sylvia," I said. "Thanks for helping me."

"What kinda Pokemon are ya, anyway? We never seen anything like you before!" Dolan asked curiously.

"I'm a Sylveon, and...apparently I'm the second of only two that exist in this entire...world..." I told him smiling at first, then became a little sad as I mentioned that last part.

"That explains it. What were you doing out in that sandstorm? It's dangerous to be out there, and we don't know how long it'll be before it goes away," Danali asked.

"I wasn't walking through it on purpose. Some people were chasing me and I had to get away," I told them.

"That must have been scary!" Dolan said.

"Well, I don't want you to have to go back out in that horrid sandstorm since people and Pokemon have died in weather like that, especially without proper equipment, so for the time being, you can stay with us until we're sure the weather has cleared," Danali told me.

I was shocked. "What?! I can stay here?! But...why are you doing this for me? You don't even know me," I asked, shocked at first, but then I lowered my voice.

"You seem like a nice and sensible little Pokemon, and you look like you have a place to go back to. Besides, I never turn my back on someone in need, especially in bad weather such as this, so I want to make sure everything's alright so you can go back to wherever it is you came from. Your family must miss you a great deal," Danali explained.

I couldn't help but feel touched. "Thank you so much, Danali. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry you have to do this for me," I told her shyly, blushing a little.

"Don't be so modest, dear child! I've helped lots of Pokemon before, and even some humans, so you can say doing this is what I do best. Now I think it's about time for lunch. Good thing the Sandshrew have some berries they've been kind enough to share while they dig tunnels through the ground, so we'll have a nice hearty meal today," Danali said.

"We're underground?" I asked.

"Yep! We Darumaka and Darmanitan live in deserts, though if the sand's too rough, it hurts us, and we're fire types so we're weak against ground type attacks, so we make do by digging in the ground. It's really handy! But our digging skills are kinda weak right now, though," Davey explained.

So for a while, I became part of their little underground family. I made sure to do whatever I could to thank them for being so kind to me, like helping to clean up or find berries when necessary. I wasn't sure how much time had passed while I was down there. I only know that many days passed and it felt like forever, not that I didn't enjoy being with them. In fact, I felt like I was back home with my family again, enjoying serene, happy days without worrying about anything at all, playing and chatting and doing whatever we pleased. I just kept on wondering how bad the sandstorm was and whether it'd actually end or not. The other underground Pokemon we met said that the sandstorm's been going on for quite a while, both day and night. There were lots of tunnels underground that the Pokemon, like Danali and her family, who can't stand sandstorms like these made so they could get by without getting hurt or dehydrated and so they could find ways to forage food in the places next to the desert. I tried to help forage food as well. It was Dolan who helped me and showed me how it worked since he's done it lots of times. We go through tunnels leading to their designated places. Some Pokemon marked them with symbols so they can know which tunnel leads to which place. Three rectangles means Castelia City, and a wheel means Nimbasa City, though we couldn't go through that one because there's some construction going on up above.

The only thing I didn't really like about living underground was that it was always dark. Danali and her family used their flames to light everything up, but I still missed the warm sunshine on my fur, the blue sky that seemed to go on forever and ever, the Pidove flying in the sky, the nice smell of the green trees, the soft green grass beneath my feet, and everything else. But the sandstorm was really bad, so I didn't complain. I knew living here would be for the best until the sandstorm subsided. I do know that Danali took care of my burned feet with some herbs she found in some forests long ago, and before I knew it, the burns on my feet were completely gone. It felt great to be able to walk two steps without succumbing to pain every few seconds. Then, one day, a Sandshrew appeared when we were having the red berries-Cheri berries as they're really called-for dinner.

"Danali! Great news! The sandstorm has ended! You can go out now!" The Sandshrew exclaimed jubilantly.

"The sandstorm's gone?! Really?!" Davey exclaimed excitedly and jumped once as he heard it.

"Can we really go out now?" Dolan asked.

"Yes! I'll let everyone else know!" The Sandshrew said and left. Soon, Davey and Dolan were hopping all over the place, cheering happily for this great news.

"Yay! Yay yay yay! Hey Mama! Can we go out and play now? Please? We haven't been out in forever!" Davey cheered, then begged Danali to let them go out.

"Pretty please, Mama?" Dolan begged.

"Alright alright. Let's go check and see if it's true, then we can go out. Okay?" Danali told them. After a few minutes, we found ourselves moving a big rock. I was the first to go out.

All I saw was a blue sky above me, and sand below my feet. That was what I noticed first. I could see! No dust clouds, no huge clouds of sand, no sand getting in my eyes, my feet weren't burning...I could actually see!

"She's right! The sandstorm's gone! We can go out now!" I called out.

"Yaaaaay! Play time!" Both Dolan and Davey cheered and jumped right out of the hole as soon as I told them that it was clear. The two Darumaka brothers began chasing each other around like crazy people, obviously looking very happy to finally be free from being stuck in their dark little house. I was just happy I could finally see and feel some sunshine. But now that the sandstorm has ended, I knew that I had to leave, so I approached Danali.

"Danali...thanks so much for letting me stay. I'll never forget your kindness," I told her kindly and bowed politely in front of her to convey my eternal gratitude.

"I'm just glad we were able to help you. We'll miss you a great deal, but we know there's something you have to do, and we can't stop you from doing what you wish. Oh! If you go straight that way, you'll find a road, and if you go straight on the road, it'll take you straight to Nimbasa City in a jiffy, so long as you stay on the path. But do be careful. There are some rogue Pokemon running around, so I advise that you avoid them at all costs, especially if you can't defend yourself against them," Danali told me as she pointed in the direction that I needed to go.

"Thank you again. Goodbye, Danali, Dolan, and Davey! I'll miss you!" I said as I turned around, waved to them with my paw, and ran in the direction she told me to go. Since the sandstorm was gone, I didn't rush this time, even though it did take me a while to reach the path. Soon, I saw some houses and a grey path opening up before me.

"There it is!" I exclaimed as I tried to hop on it. But suddenly, I felt something hard strike me and send me flying into the sand. I got back up and brushed the sand off, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a little light brown crocodile Pokemon standing before me, giving me a very angry and condescending look. He looked like he had a huge, thick pair of black glasses on, even though I could tell it was part of his face. He has black markings on his nose and back, a pink belly, and little feet. He didn't look much bigger than me, but I was still scared, even though I was more confused and angry than anything else.

"What was that for?!" I yelped angrily when I brushed the sand off.

"You got your paws on mah turf, 'dat's whut!" The crocodile Pokemon exclaimed angrily.

"I'm sorry about that. But I'm leaving right now, so I'll be off it in just a second-" I was about to get on the road until he suddenly jumped me and dug his big white teeth into one of my ears. "Oww! Get off!" With my ear throbbing in pain, I managed to kick the Pokemon off of me.

"That really hurt!" I yelled. But I saw that he became even angrier.

"You...you dare to attack me, Gator the Sandile?! The strongest Sandile in the Desert Resort?! You're gonna pay for thinking you can stand up to me, you arrogant little piece of fluff!" The Sandile, Gator, screeched angrily. Then he charged at me.

"Waaaaahhh!" I really didn't want to fight him, so I ran away as usual. I thought that if I did try to fight him, I'd probably lose. It's true that I've been forced into Pokemon battles before because of those scientists from Kalos, but I've never battled a Sandile before! I wondered if fairy types were strong against dark types. Since the man on the TV mentioned Sylveon knowing the move Moon Blast, I wondered if I could actually use an attack like that, but he said we draw power from the moon to use it, and it was day time when Gator chased me. But I became so focused on wondering that I ran into a dead end!

"Oh no!" I screamed. The stony brick walls were really high up, reaching Claudia's height, and it didn't look like I could reach them. I jumped a few times, but I couldn't jump high enough.

"Now you're toast, pinky! You gots nowhere 'ta run!" Gator snarled as he boxed me into the dead end.

I hated fighting. I really did. I don't like hurting people or Pokemon. I didn't like being forced to battle Pokemon in the lab. But then I remembered my battle with Hazel and the things she said to me when we were forced to battle each other.

"_You can't run forever, Sylvia! You have to attack me!"_

"_Know this: you can't live life running away from everything. If you're caught in a corner, you're going to have to fight back, and if someone even bigger tries to hurt you, you have to train yourself and get stronger or you'll be stomped on by everyone."_

I guess this is one of those times. Now I have to battle and defend myself, even if it means hurting someone, despite the fact that I don't like battling. I remembered the attacks I learned when they made me battle in the lab. They said I learned the attacks called Swift, Bite, Quick Attack, and Trump Card.

Without saying anything, I concentrated on using Quick Attack. I thought about increasing my speed, and I found myself encased in a silvery white light. With a light howl, I charged right at Gator and managed to hit him, though not by much. But I did find that I got faster, and figured if I could attack him enough with my newly increased speed, I could at least land some hits on him without getting hurt myself, so with my newly gained agility, I charged at Gator on all sides, hoping I could do some damage, and I did. But when the glow around my body disappeared, Gator lunged at me and dug his teeth into my body instead of my ear this time. I howled in pain as his sharp teeth dredged into my skin really hard, permeating my fur. Unlike before, I couldn't kick him off with my feet. I couldn't twist my legs around in the angle needed to kick him off, so I tried Quick Attack again and jumped all over the wall that I was boxed in by just so I could throw him off. It worked, and Gator found himself being thrown against the wall. I tried to get away once I found myself out of the dead end, but he bit on my tail again.

"Stop biting me!" I screamed angrily as I kicked him square in the face with one of my back legs. "Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

"Nobody escapes from Gator! Nobody! Not even weak little pansy retards like you!" Gator yelled and lunged at me again.

Then I tried to focus on using Trump Card. I closed my eyes and lifted my head up, concentrating as hard as I could. Then, six glowing white cards circled in front of me, turned the other direction, and shot right at Gator, knocking him against the wall again. He fell so hard against the wall that he literally made a big hole in it. That's when I decided to run. I stayed on the path like Danali told me, and I did manage to outrun Gator, but my legs and body felt like they had been eaten off. As soon as I moved even the tiniest muscle in both those areas, jolts of pain shot through them like lightning through a telephone line, like the ones you see in most neighborhoods on big brown poles. I wanted to stop, but I knew that if I did, Gator would likely come after me again, and I really didn't want to waste both my valuable time and power on someone like him. I had to get to this Nimbasa City place no matter what. But soon, my legs and body gave out and I fell on some sand, right off the path. My eyesight began to blur and I started to lose consciousness. I didn't want to lose consciousness and needed to go on, but my injured body wouldn't listen to me.

Before I lost it completely, however, I saw some maroon and blue blurry figures approaching me. I tried to figure out what they were, but I couldn't, as my eyes closed and I fell asleep.

Footnotes:

1. The lyrics are the translated words of the song, "Flower of Hope" by Haruka Chisuga, which was used as the ending song for the anime Kotoura-san, which is based on a web manga by Enokids.


	6. Happy Times

Chapter 6: Happy Times

Before I woke up, a nice smell caressed my nostrils. It didn't wake me up, as I was still dreaming, but I definitely recognized the smell: roses. They smelled very nice. I remembered that Vicky had a huge bouquet of them given to her by someone once. If I remember correctly, I think it was because she helped them with some trouble they've been having. I can't remember what kind of trouble, though. Anyway, after a while, the piercing sunlight finally forced me to wake up. As I rubbed my eyes with my pink paws to make them adjust to the light, I realized from looking at my surroundings that I was in someone's house. The entire house is made of wood. I found myself sitting on a pale green sofa with some pillows. One of those pillows was under my head. Next to the couch was a little stand containing a beautiful bouquet of starkly red roses kept in a pretty blue and white vase. So my nose was right about smelling roses before I woke up after all. In another room I saw a table covered in a pretty purple and red striped tablecloth with lace at the ends. Sitting on the tablecloth were two rectangle-shaped placemats, both blue with big yellow and brown sunflowers embroidered on them.

I was about to get up and explore until a very old woman came into the room where I was in. She looked very wrinkled and had short, poofy, curly grey hair which hand strands sticking up behind her ears and on other parts and dull blue eyes, like they had lost their shine over the years. But I still thought they were pretty, though. She came in wearing a short sleeved, pale yellow shirt, a short sleeved white hoodie with a zipper, a long, dark brown and purple skirt, and a pair of tan slip on shoes. She didn't have any socks on. Around her neck was a pretty necklace with a red heart shaped jewel, about the same shade of red as the roses in the pretty vase. Once she laid eyes on me, her eyes got wide with excitement and she gasped a little.

"Oh my! You're awake!" The woman exclaimed softly, then ran out of the room. "Silas! The little Pokemon is awake!"

"Really, Heidi? Well, let's see!" A man's voice, Silas, as the woman, Heidi, called him, said and the owner of the voice came into the room, along with Heidi. The man looks a lot older than Heidi. He had absolutely no hair on his head at all. Not one little streak of it. He was completely bald, his head perfectly round and impressively shiny, like he had shined it himself. Unlike Heidi, his eyes were dark green, and completely dull in color, completely deprived of any shine or life whatsoever, though this Silas guy seemed cheerful enough. He did, however, have a fluffy little white beard and mustache, which I thought looked good on him. He was wearing a long sleeved olive green sweater, blue jeans, and tan boots. In one of his hands is a tall, dark brown cane. Judging from the way I saw him use it, he hunched over when he walked, and it looked like he was using it to help him walk. I wondered if he would collapse if he didn't have it on him. Once he saw me, his eyes widened and he smiled brightly.

"Glad to see you're okay, little one. My oh my, you sure are a beautiful creature!" The old man, Silas, said kindly.

I couldn't help but blush a bit at his compliment. Nobody has ever called me beautiful before except for my family. But I did bow and tell him "Thank you," even though neither of them were likely to understand. Heidi couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Ohoho. She sure knows her manners," Heidi said. It's here that I noticed that parts of my body had white gauze wrapped on them. Mostly the areas where Gator had bitten me and wouldn't let go. Even the part of my ear that Gator bit down on really hard was patched up. Oddly enough, none of them hurt anymore. They must have taken care of me while I was unconscious.

"So what kinda Pokemon is she, Heidi? A new one? I've never seen one like her before," Silas asked, a little confused.

"I've seen this one on the news. They say she's a Sylveon, a newly discovered Eevee evolution, and the very first fairy type Pokemon," Heidi explained.

"Sylveon? Fairy type? Well I'll be, I sure didn't think I'd ever live to see the day where I'd meet the first ever fairy type Pokemon in the whole world. Well, she seems like a fine little creature. She's certainly a pretty little thing, ain't she, Heidi?" Silas said with a sunny smile on his face.

"Yes, indeed. She sure is cute, too," Heidi said. Then I heard my stomach growl. "Oh dear. You must be hungry. You stay with her, Silas. I'll go get some of my new Pokemon food," Heidi told her husband and then trotted happily into the kitchen. Silas then started talking to me right after she went in.

"You sure took a beating from that naughty Sandile. I'm just glad my wife and I managed to save you in time. You needn't worry about a thing, Sylveon. We have lots of Pokemon for you to play with. My wife and I make a livin' out of saving Pokemon who've been sick, injured, or abandoned, or whose trainers died or couldn't take care of them. You'll be safe here," Silas told me kindly. I smiled upon hearing that he and Heidi take care of Pokemon who have been abandoned. It was around there that I heard voices coming from outside. The merry sound of happy laughter, echoing in the air. I crawled up to the window above the sofa and saw many Pokemon running around and playing. Some of them I recognized, like Marill, Pidove, Lillipup, Oshawott, Tepig, Cottonee, Butterfree, and Deerling. Most of them, however, are Pokemon I don't recognize, like a little white horse with black eyes and flames on its mane and tail, a little green bulb Pokemon with three darker green leaves and yellow eyes, a little yellow one with black tips on its ears, red circles on its cheeks, two brown stripes going across its back, and a tail that would be shaped like a thunderbolt if the end of it wasn't cropped to shape like a heart, a green and yellow caterpillar, an orange bear with a tan face, a yellow crescent moon on its forehead and black eyes, a very very tiny little yellow spider with four legs and big blue eyes, who was possibly the smallest Pokemon I've ever seen, a red thing with stubby arms and legs and two cropped leaves coming out of its head, and a bluish green Pokemon with red eyes and a big green bulb on its back.

Soon, Heidi came back with a bowl full of brown Pokemon food. I took one little bite at first, and I was surprised at how delicious it was. I felt really hungry, and since they were giving this to me out of kindness, I didn't reject their offer, so I wound up chomping it all down like Alseides would if he ever got a big plate of food. I remember he was a really big eater and would always ask for big amounts of Pokemon food, even after he couldn't eat anymore. I managed to eat it all and I felt quite revitalized after that. I did, however, start to feel curious about the other Pokemon and returned to watching them through the window above the sofa. Normally I'm a shy Pokemon, but something within me back then wanted to at least make some friends and feel somewhat safe and secure. Heidi and Silas soon got the picture.

"Think she wants to go out and play?" Silas asked.

"I think so. Come now, Sylveon. We'll take you outside," Heidi said. This was the first time anyone ever referred to me as Sylveon, not by my given name, Sylvia, but Pokemon can't talk and it's not like the humans can ever know that we have our own names too, so even though I didn't like not being called by my name, I knew I had to deal with it. Soon, Heidi opened the door and it revealed a big green field closed in by a wooden fence about 20 feet long and wide, with a little gate locking us in. I saw some little yellow flowers and some blue ones pop up from the ground. I went onto the field and smelled them. They smelled nice, but their scent wasn't as strong as the roses. But as I was smelling the flowers, I saw two shadows loom over me. I looked up and I saw the fiery horse and the leafy bud Pokemon with the leaves on its head and yellow eyes.

"Hi there! You must be the new girl Silas and Heidi brought in!" The leafy bud Pokemon said cheerfully in a sweet voice.

"Should you really address her like that, Poppy?" The flaming horse asked.

"Poppy? Is that your name?" I asked.

"Yeppers! I'm a Petilil, and this here is Twilight, a Ponyta!" The Petilil, Poppy, chirped happily. Twilight lowered her head then raised it back up. I hadn't seen a Ponyta for so long that I had forgotten that we did have some at Floccesy Ranch.

"I'm...Sylvia, a Sylveon," I told them.

"A Sylveon? We never heard of a Pokemon like that," Twilight said. "But that's okay. We're glad to meet you. Do you want to play with us?"

"Sure. I'd love to! What kind of games do you play?" I said, happy that they invited me to play with them. I hadn't played with any Pokemon since I went on my journey.

"Lots of games! We're gonna play hide and seek right now. I know! Since you just came here, how about you be the one to find us?" Poppy exclaimed happily. I couldn't help but find her excessive cheerfulness to be rather endearing.

"That's not fair, Poppy," Twilight said. "She just got here. She doesn't know the area too well. Let's play something like tag."

"Awww! We played that six times this week!" Poppy whined. I couldn't help but laugh a little at their banter. But then I noticed the little yellow Pokemon with the red cheeks staring at me. Whoever it was, its dark eyes looked a little cold and severe. I couldn't help but feel a little bit intimidated by how sharp looking its gaze was toward me. It almost looked cruel and scornful. I wondered if the Pokemon decided it didn't like me. Did it think I was too frilly? Too ugly? Maybe I'm taking up too much attention? I know I shouldn't judge, but it looked rather angry as it looked at me, like it was sizing me up and examining me. But after staring at me a little, it turned its head the other way and minded its own business after that. Still, something about her piqued my interest.

"What'cha lookin' at, Sylvie?" Poppy asked.

I couldn't help but ask. "Do you know who that yellow Pokemon is?"

They figured it out right away who I was referring to. "That little yellow Pokemon? She's what's called a Pikachu. Silas brought her here last week," Twilight told me.

"Her name's Hikaru. She doesn't play with us, and when we try to talk to her, she either ignores us completely or snaps at us. I think she's kinda mean. I heard Silas say she has a very bad temper. I think you should stay away from her. She might snap at you," Poppy told me.

"You know you shouldn't judge someone by their looks. Maybe she's acting that way for a reason. Heidi said she was treated very badly by trainers she had," Twilight told her calmly.

Twilight didn't know it, but she said exactly what I was thinking. Twilight, Poppy, and I played and tumbled around for a while, and when they got tired, I decided to watch Hikaru some more. I noticed that she has a scar on her tail, shaped like the letter T. It looked an ugly shade of pink, and the skin had hardened, so it was likely it had long since healed. Maybe something bad happened to give her that scar. Soon, when they went back to their stable, I decided to crawl over to Hikaru. I didn't want to get too close out of fear that I might be invading her space, so I stopped about a foot in front of her and sat down.

I didn't feel the least bit scared.

"Hi," I said.

Hikaru didn't say anything.

"I'm Sylvia. A Sylveon," I said.

She didn't say anything, but she looked at me and wore a slightly curious expression. It didn't look mean like earlier.

"I know. You've never seen a Pokemon like me before. Nobody has. That's because I'm a new Pokemon that was recently discovered, though I used to be an Eevee before that," I told her.

She tilted her head to one side curiously, like she wanted to know more.

"I don't know how I evolved. Some scientists from a region called Kalos kidnapped me, and they wanted to see if I could evolve into this new Pokemon. To be honest, I kind of like my new evolution, though I do kinda miss being an Eevee."

Her ears twitched a bit. She didn't seem responsive, but I could tell she looked interested in anything I had to tell her, so I told her a lot about myself, my family, what's been happening to me, what I've seen, everything else. She seemed to take it all in, and she lost the mean look she had earlier. After a while, though, all the Pokemon had to go inside for dinner. My injuries weren't bad, but Silas and Heidi weren't sure if I could go back out on my own or not or be able to handle myself, so they kept me within their vicinity. I didn't mind. Their little house reminded me of Floccesy Ranch. Being here brought back so many great memories: smelling the flowers, playing with the Pokemon, flocking to Vicky for dinner with my family, everything felt so great, so warm, and so nostalgic, I didn't even notice Hikaru joining us for supper too. At least, not until she offered me a berry. At first, I was reluctant to accept it.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Hikaru nodded and handed it to me anyway. I smiled with gratitude. "Thank you," Hikaru nodded again with a smile this time.

I could tell right away that Hikaru seemed a lot nicer than she acted, probably for good reason, like Twilight said. I thought that if I befriended her, maybe I could prove to Poppy that Hikaru's not a mean and snappy little Pokemon like she assumes. So, sometimes I would play with Poppy and Twilight, then go on to talk with Hikaru. She didn't talk like usual, but I didn't mind. I rather liked some of those one-sided conversation I'd have with her. They reminded me of my times talking to Moondancer and Serena. They hardly responded to anything I said, but I knew they listened intently, and they didn't deliberately ignore me, especially not out of spite. Perhaps something like this could work for Hikaru too, especially since some of the other Pokemon don't seem to have the courage to approach her or decide they don't want to be her friend simply because she looks mean. I learned from experience that just because a Pokemon looks mean doesn't automatically mean that they are mean. Claudia looked mean and nasty, but only because she's been separated from her children so long that she was close to losing her sanity, despite that she sacrificed her chance at freedom to help me escape, even though she deprived herself of the chance of reuniting with her children again. After about a week, I finally got something. As I was alone one day, sniffing some flowers that Heidi planted, I noticed that Hikaru came up to sniff them too. I wasn't expecting a response...but right then, she talked to me.

"Good morning," Hikaru said in a bit of a high but tomboyish voice. I couldn't help but light up with joy. Hikaru was talking to me! I had managed to get through to her at last. But I figured if I acted too cheery, she might run away with fright or think that I'm trying to annoy her deliberately, so I made sure to calm down and keep my composure.

"Good morning," I said.

"Do you like it here?"

"Yeah. It reminds me of my home."

"Floccesy Ranch, right? That's across the sea."

"Mm-hmm."

Hikaru looked at the flowers with a bit of a wistful look. By this time, she had completely lost the cruel look she had when I first met her. Even the other Pokemon were beginning to change their opinions about her once they noticed her changing. "You're lucky to have had people who care about you. If I had your experiences, I'd probably have a good temper like you. But I think it's too late now."

"How come? You seem nice enough now," I said. She never snapped at me like Poppy feared she would, so I had no reason to think it was too late for her to have a good temper. At least Twilight was right in Hikaru having a reason for being so stoic and anti-social.

Soon, Hikaru decided to tell me her story, since we were alone together. "You told me yours, so I might as well tell you mine. I don't remember my parents. I don't know where I came from. People say we're indigenous to Kanto, but I don't even remember living there. All I remember is that when I was a Pichu, I was found by a little girl who wanted me to be her friend. I think her name was Jolie. I really liked her. She and I were great friends, but she was picked on by other kids because she had a disability, and her parents didn't like Pokemon for some reason. After a while, her parents found out, and they forcibly took me away. Jolie cried really hard and tried to get me back, but her father beat her. It broke my heart to see her get yelled at for something so stupid, and I really wanted to be with her forever. But then I was sold to a Pokemon circus."

She told me a lot about the circus. The circus is where they train Pokemon to perform shows and extremely dangerous feats in front of a live audience, like walking on pieces of string in the sky, performing tricks with objects in the air, balancing on big balls, juggling, jumping through rings of fire, making a Pokemon tower, balancing objects with multiple parts of their body at the same time, that kind of stuff. But she absolutely hated it. The owners were very cruel to her. When she didn't meet their expectations or didn't perform the tricks exactly right, they whipped her and beat her until she was covered in bruises. They didn't even take her to the Pokemon Center because they didn't want to be questioned by anyone. She overheard them saying that the circus they're running was an illegal one, and that they'd be arrested if they were caught by police. Hikaru was even forced to battle the other Pokemon there, and she was the smallest Pokemon they had! I couldn't imagine how someone would force a tiny, helpless, vulnerable little baby Pokemon to fight off really big and ferocious Pokemon that could easily kill her if someone let them run off and go on a rampage. After about three months, she couldn't take living in the circus anymore, so she used Thunderbolt on the others despite doing damage to herself (she mentioned that if Pichu use electric attacks, they can't use them without shocking themselves. I wonder why that is?) and ran away.

She went on the run for about three months until a kind and thoughtful man saved her from dying from pneumonia in the rain once. After she was healed, the man, whose name was Trevor Silverstein, took her to his cabin to live in his yard with some of his Pokemon. She liked it there, and made friends with his partners. It was in that cabin, after about two months of treating her and raising her with kindness and love, that she evolved into the Pikachu she is now. She stayed with Trevor for a long time. However, living at the cabin wasn't without its downsides. The biggest one, she said, was that there was this very naughty little boy who did very horrible things to Pokemon for his own amusement. He had a reputation for being a very badly behaved little boy, who caused trouble to everyone around him. He'd do lots of bad things to Pokemon, like throw sticks, stones, and other objects at them, even big ones, steal the Pokemon food and throw it in the trash to deprive them of eating, and even outright attack them with weapons, like lighters and screwdrivers. He always came when Trevor wasn't around. One day, after she saw that he went too far by throwing a stone at a Marill's eye and scarring it for life, she stood up to him with a good Thunderbolt and tried to scare him away, but he caught her, used a lighter on her tail, and left a serious burn on it. That's why she has the T-shaped scar. Once Trevor found out, the boy's parents had been called and they finally put him in a psychiatric facility, where they classified him as a sociopath. Hikaru's burns were taken care of as well, but the lighter went in really deep, and the skin that was burned off couldn't be healed in the same way, so Hikaru has to live with the scar for the rest of her life.

Once the boy was finally dealt with, Hikaru still liked being in the cabin with Trevor and the other Pokemon, and had wanted to stay there forever until Trevor had to sell his property and give all the Pokemon up for adoption to help with financial trouble. Hikaru knew that Trevor didn't do this out of spite, because he had been very very kind to her. He was the one who taught her to know what was expected of her without being cruel or overbearing. She learned true kindness from him, and she knew that he had been in trouble for a long time and decided not to hold it against him. She felt happy he at least cared for her like she was his own and didn't treat her like a machine or a slave. However, her happy days with Trevor came to an official end when she was adopted by a suave, handsome looking nobleman named Liam Nimoy. He was a member of a very rich and prominent family who very much liked rare Pokemon not indigenous to Unova. He had a lot of influence and was known for his flashiness and charisma. However, he wanted more than anything else to be fashionable. He always wore clothes of the latest fashion, and was very boastful. Hikaru describes him as a narcissist, someone who loves himself more than anything. He treated all the Pokemon he had like museum exhibits than actual Pokemon, and put on shows where he would keep them in cages and have everyone pay expensive amounts of money just to look at them in awe like they were precious pieces of artwork. The biggest problem was, Liam would force every one of his Pokemon to stand in their assigned places, completely frozen and immobile, like they really were made out of stuff like wood or rock, and wood and rock can't move at all. If they moved so much as an inch, they would only receive a whip or a spanking. This was enough to drive Hikaru absolutely crazy. She was miserable and angry all the time, but nobody understood this and expected her to be obedient to them, and if she wasn't, she was whipped. She was willing to work hard for whoever owned her, but she did not find standing around and being treated like an object to be to her liking. No one cared about her and only decided to make her suffer more. Finally, just like with the circus, she attacked Liam with a Thunderbolt and ran away. But unlike before, she was caught and sold off to someone else.

She wanted to tell me more, but we had to eat dinner and go to bed. I was surprised to hear that Hikaru had gone through. Can humans really be that cruel? To only view Pokemon as objects that they can mend to their will or machines who are expected to do whatever they say and if they break they're thrown away like trash? I knew in my heart that not all people were like that. Darien and Vicky treated me, my parents, and my siblings like their precious children and were never cruel to us. Not once. Serena held me and Bambi in very high regard, and we were both considered her only best friends. I'm sure there are also trainers who cared for their Pokemon like their best friends. I wondered if Leonard was being nice to Bolt and taking good care of him. I hoped he was. I couldn't imagine my rambunctious and brave older brother being abused and mistreated. At night, I prayed that Leonard was treating him well and wish that he'd evolved into a Jolteon like he wished.

The next day, Hikaru told me more about her past. After she was caught by Liam, she was put on auctions. She started to gain a reputation for her bad temper, so people didn't want her. Soon, she was sold off for a high amount to a rather rough and uncaring man who worked in an electric company and needed electric Pokemon to do his business. But he didn't care much about their welfare, and if they didn't do as he asked, he'd poke them with a pitchfork, but not to a point where it'd leave any injuries. One day, when she was hungry and tried to get some food, he caught her in the act and kicked her. This backfired on him, however, as her Static ability paralyzed him. Taking advantage of this, she bit him on the face and ran away. After that, he became too scared to approach her so he released her. After this, Hikaru was taken in by some Unovian researchers. However, they were afraid of her bad temper, so she never stayed in any home for a long time. She was caught by a selfish trainer who thought she'd be his ticket to victory in the Unova League, but when she wouldn't cooperate with him, he decided she was weak, useless, and worthless, and released her. It wouldn't have been so bad for her except that this happened after a really really rough battle with a big Pokemon called a Bouffalant, and she suffered grave injuries battling it. But instead of taking her to a Pokemon Center immediately, the trainer disowned her and just left her there to die. The last thing she remembered about that night was that a mysterious young man with long, fluffy, pale green hair, flawless white skin, and green eyes, saved her, took care of her injuries, and released her into the wild once she was well enough. She forgot his name, but she could feel his kindness toward Pokemon, and that he had a very nice voice. After she was released, Silas found her and that's how she came here.

"Yep. That's my story in a nutshell. Feel free to call me a vermin, if you will," Hikaru said bitterly.

"Huh? Why would I do that?" I asked, confused by what she said.

"Not many people or Pokemon like me for who I am," Hikaru said. She thought that was the end of it, but she became surprised when I started inviting her to play with Twilight and Poppy or eat with us or taking time to talk with her whenever I wanted.

"Sylvia...why are you being so nice to me?" She asked curiously. She didn't sound mean as she said this.

"Because you're my friend! That's why, and I like you!" I told her with a smile.

Hikaru looked like she had never even heard of the world friend before judging by her genuinely surprised expression. Her mouth fell open and her eyes looked like they were going to fall right out of her face. "You're...willing to befriend someone like me? Even after telling you all the stuff I went through?"

"Yep! I don't see why you have to feel embarrassed about letting people see who you really are. I mean, it's not like you wanted all that bad stuff to happen to you, now did you?"

Hikaru shook her head. I was glad to know that Hikaru is really a nice Pokemon inside. It's just that the nice side of her has been squashed by the excessive amount of cruelty she had to endure, and she feels like she has to be on guard whenever someone approaches her. But I saw her eyes moisten a bit, like she wanted to cry. As soon as she noticed, she wiped her eyes dry with her paws. Soon, the more time I spent with Silas, Heidi, and the Pokemon they took in, the more I wanted to stay. Twilight, Poppy, and I played like we were the best of friends. Overtime, Hikaru began to grow more cheerful and social. Poppy soon threw away her original opinion of her upon seeing how I helped her open up and invited her to play games with us. Soon, Hikaru became part of our quartet, and we were inseparable. I was surprised that Twilight and Poppy accepted me so quickly, but I didn't mind so much since they actually did. Being with them reminded me of home. Twilight reminded me of Vapor, Poppy of Lucretia, and Hikaru like Moondancer and Alseides, but without the arrogance and the sudden change in personality. Silas and Heidi noticed our friendship and encouraged it instead of disapproving it.

I wound up staying at Silas and Heidi's house for a whole month. Within that timeframe, during my stay there, I learned a lot about them. Heidi was a very famous Pokemon trainer until she retired due to deteriorating health, and Silas was a police officer who, due to an unfortunate run-in with a dangerous burglar on the job later in life, wound up getting shot in the back, which has caused him to be unable to walk for a while. He walks now, but he has to use the cane or else he won't be able to walk properly. But he can't really get around much at all because of the severity of his disability, and he can't work anymore because he suffered some strokes. Thankfully, none of them killed him or left any lasting effects on him. They both met in the hospital, when Heidi was hospitalized for a broken ankle. Soon, they began helping each other and later, they got married. They did have kids, but they never said what happened to them. Soon, they decided to use this house as a little Pokemon rehabilitation center so they can help abandoned or injured Pokemon get back on their feet. They can either let them stay or leave, and they allowed other people to come and adopt them if they wish. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to stay with Twilight, Hikaru, and Poppy forever, that was not meant to be, as a family adopted Poppy to be their little girl's best friend, and another trainer wanted Twilight as a new member of her team. Hikaru and I were both sad. I cried really hard when I said my goodbyes to them, but Hikaru didn't say anything and just quietly comforted me by stroking my fur with my paw. She wasn't acting indifferent because she didn't feel anything. She was very sad, but she chose to hide it. I knew for sure that she felt just as sad about it as I did. I wondered why she didn't make a fuss until she told me that there's no point in getting attached to other Pokemon, as they always come and go. She says friends don't always stay together. But I could tell she really enjoyed playing with us. I'm sure she felt some sort of attachment to Twilight and Poppy.

Then, at the end of the month, something worse happened.

As I was training with Hikaru to learn how to use my signature move, Moonblast, we stopped when we heard a thud and a loud crashing sound, like a vase had broken into a million pieces. _CRASH!_ It went. Soon, we heard Heidi's voice, and she sounded very hysterical.

"Silas?! Silas, are you alright?! Silas! Speak to me! Wake up! Silas!" Heidi yelled from inside the house. All the other Pokemon didn't bother to go in and see what was going on, except for Hikaru and me. We both went inside to see what was going on. We saw Silas, lying on the floor, completely still, unconscious, and immobile, like he had fallen asleep in the middle of the house. Heidi shook him with her hands as hard as she could, desperately trying to wake him, but nothing worked. I could tell she was about to explode into a paroxysm of tears any minute. The vase that carried the roses before was now shattered into pieces, right in front of him, with water leaking out of it and the purple flowers scattered all over. He probably wanted to change the water in the vase so the flowers could drink it up.

She picked up a phone and asked for someone to send an ambulance. One did come, about ten minutes later. They put Silas onto this long, bed-like thing with wheels and put him inside the truck. Heidi felt bad about leaving us all here, but she put out a lot of food for us before she got in her car and went to the hospital where Silas was being taken to. All of the Pokemon, me and Hikaru included, became very anxious and worried. What happened to Silas? Is he going to be okay? What's going to happen to him if he isn't? What'll happen to us? I tried not to think negatively, but Hikaru seemed indifferent, like she was trying really hard to suppress whatever worries she had about Silas. Sadly, Heidi came back two hours later, looking like the life had been sucked right out of her. As soon as she came in, she fell on her knees and erupted into very loud, raspy, and sorrowful howls. Silas died of a cerebral hemorrhage. I looked at Hikaru, who, instead of looking indifferent, looked like she was about to burst into tears as well. I did the only thing I knew: I walked up to Heidi and rubbed myself against her. She clung to me like I was her support and cried into my fur. Soon, Hikaru did the same.

"Thank you, my little darlings...I'm so sorry...after this, we can't...take care of you...anymore..." Heidi cried into our fur coats. At first, we didn't know why she said this until the day after. We saw some people come to the house to talk about arranging Silas' burial. She told them that while she was at the hospital waiting for Silas' condition, she found out from her own doctor that she was diagnosed with ALS, which means her body is weak and will degenerate until she can't do anything for herself anymore, and that she won't live much longer. As a result, she has to go to a nursing home and sell this house. I couldn't believe what I heard. She and Silas have done so much for us, and yet now it's all crumbling before her eyes. But when she was told about this, she got hysterical and asked about what would happen to the Pokemon she and Silas have rescued. She didn't want to just throw them all away like they're trash. They're her friends and beloved companions. I felt my chest grow warm when she said this and felt happy that she thought of us that way. But when Hikaru and I went out into the yard alone, she shocked me with something she said as soon as she went out.

"I figured something like this would happen," Hikaru said bitterly.

"WHAT?! Hikaru! You do know Heidi isn't selling the house because she wants to, right?!" I screamed, shocked by what she said.

"I know that, Syl. I really do. But if you've gone through what I have, then you know that good things never last forever, whether they want it to or not," Hikaru told me.

She surprised me yet again with something else.

She turned around, gave me a courageous look, and blurted out, without any ambiguity whatsoever, "I'll follow you to Floccesy Ranch!"

"Huh?! What?! You...huuuuh?!" I yelped, surprised yet again.

"Let's get out of here! Together, Sylvia! Just you and me! You wanna go back to Floccesy Ranch, right? Staying here isn't going to help you get there. I don't have any plans for going anywhere either, so...would it be okay if I escorted you back? I don't know the way, but...I'd like to accompany you and help you out, if you want," Hikaru proclaimed proudly at first, then her voice lowered and her tone of voice softened when she asked if she could accompany me on my journey.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Hikaru, the one stoic and antisocial Pikachu who's been through so much cruelty is actually asking to be a part of my journey back to Floccesy Ranch and help me get there even though she herself has no idea where it is and how to get there? I couldn't help but shed a few tears, feeling absolutely touched by her compassion, her conviction, and her kindness. I used one of my streamers (that's what I'll call them now. I don't know what their official name is) to dry my eyes off and smiled at her.

"Okay! I'd love to have you be with me, Hikaru! You are my friend after all," I told her.

Hikaru flashed a sweet smile. "I'm glad. Now, if what I've heard around here is correct, we're on Route 5, which is just between two cities, Nimbasa and Driftveil. Nimbasa is that way," Hikaru pointed to the right. "And Driftveil is that way," Hikaru pointed to the left.

"I was told that Floccesy Ranch is across the sea," I told her.

"I hear that Driftveil is on the ocean. Maybe they'll have boats! Let's go there and see if we can find one that goes to Floccesy Ranch. There's a big long drawbridge just along the way. If we follow it all the way through, we can make it to Driftveil City," Hikaru said.

As soon as I heard her say the word bridge, Skyarrow Bridge came back into my mind. I found myself trembling as I remembered watching Katie jump into the ocean right before my eyes, and being helpless to save her from her doom, even though I did my best to try to save her. Hikaru noticed me shaking and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

I felt compelled to tell her, so I did. "I...I was on a bridge once. I saw a girl...jump into the ocean. I tried to save her, but I couldn't, and even after I...managed to tell someone what went on...they were too late in saving her. She died. I heard her mother say she planned to kill herself from the beginning. A police officer read a note she wrote, and it said that she did it because she was convinced nobody cared about her," I explained.

"That sucks," Hikaru muttered bitterly. "But then again, if I had to put up with more and more stupid people being cruel to me, I might have done the same thing."

I couldn't bear the thought of Hikaru doing exactly what Katie did. I recoiled in fear as soon as she said that, which seemed to let her know that that was enough talking about suicide.

"If you want, we can go the opposite direction. I can understand if you're afraid of bridges, especially after something like that," Hikaru told me kindly.

"No. Let's go. If I can't even walk on a bridge, how will I be able to get back to Floccesy Ranch?" I asked.

"Good point. Who knows what's needed to get there. Now let's move," Hikaru said.

After that, me and Hikaru left Heidi's house and went on our way. I felt bad about leaving Heidi there all alone, especially since she's done so much for us and all the other Pokemon she and Silas saved. But I knew there was nothing I could do for her, so I had to leave. There was no other way, and Hikaru was right. Staying there won't get me back to Floccesy Ranch, so I had to go. Unfortunately, our journey together didn't start off too good. We wound up running into some strong Pokemon, like Liepard, Trubbish, Solosis, and Gothita. They were really strong and attacked us when we got close. Hikaru and I did our best to hold them off, but we only barely managed to escape them. Thankfully, we made it to the Driftveil Drawbridge, which is big, red and brown, not like Skyarrow Bridge, and this one was much shorter than Skyarrow. As we walked, we saw quite a lot of blue bird Pokemon called Ducklett perch onto the bridge. Some of them even left some feathers. I couldn't help but collect some. One Ducklett tried to peck at Hikaru, but she retaliated with Thundershock and sent it packing, though I think she overdid it a little. As we got further, we saw two trainers and their Pokemon, engaged in battle. Two girls were facing each other. One had curly dark brown hair in two pigtails and blue eyes, the other had short black hair and lighter blue eyes. A Deerling was in front of the black haired girl, facing off against a Liepard.

"Liepard! Use scratch!" The curly haired girl commanded.

"Liiiiie!" The big, scary purple cat Pokemon leaped in the air and tried to scratch the Deerling with her long claws.

"Deerling! Dodge it and use Jump Kick!" The black haired girl commanded.

"Deer!" Deerling swiftly managed to evade Liepard's scratch attack and then, with both of her hind legs, kicked Liepard right in the abdomen, sending her sprawling onto the bridge.

"Don't give up, Liepard! Use Pursuit!" The curly haired girl commanded again.

"Liiiiiiepard!" Liepard covered herself in white light and rammed right into Deerling.

"Deeer!" Deerling screeched as she was knocked out by the attack.

"Deerling! You can do it! I know you can! Use Wild Charge!"

As soon as she called out the attack, Hikaru and I looked at each other, our faces covered with shock. We then looked back at Deerling, who soon covered herself with lightning, and rammed right into Liepard, finally managing to defeat it. Liepard's trainer looked really shocked too.

"Wild Charge?! But...but Deerling's a grass type, isn't it?! They're not supposed to know electric type moves! It's impossible!" The curly haired trainer said as she made Liepard return to her PokeBall.

"I thought so too, until she just up and learned it. But just the fact that she learned it all on her own makes Pokemon all the more interesting, don't you think, Waleska?" The black haired girl said as he congratulated her precious and triumphant Deerling for winning the battle, referring to the brown haired girl as Waleska. "You did such a great job, Deerling! I'm so proud of you!"

"Deer deer!" Deerling squeaked happily, basking in her trainer's praise.

"Well, I lost fair and square, so I guess I'll let you off the hook this time, Liesel," Waleska said, referring to the black haired girl as Liesel. Soon, both girls walked on the bridge together. When the coast was clear, Hikaru and I popped onto the scene.

"Jeez! First normal types are able to hit ghost types and now grass types can learn electric attacks? It's weird being a Pokemon in this crazy world," Hikaru mused out loud.

"Yeah," I muttered without thinking.

"Hmph. I wonder if fairy types will suddenly learn how to use dragon type moves or something?" Hikaru said as she marched on the bridge.

"I did hear that Marill are being reclassified as fairy type, so maybe there's a possibility that they can learn new fairy type moves," I told her as we walked together.

"Marill? Fairy type? I honestly can't picture that. For one thing, fairies don't have wings, and aren't fairies supposed to be tiny and cute and magical?" Hikaru said.

"I don't think they have to be exactly one thing," I said.

"Fairy type?" A low, womanly, and motherly voice suddenly asked out of nowhere. Confused as to where it came from, Hikaru and I looked around until I saw the very pretty white bird Pokemon with the long beak and the blue chest.

"Did you say something just now?" I asked.

"Yes. That was me. Sorry to startle you, darlings," The bird Pokemon said in a kind, motherly voice that pretty much reminded me of my own mother. Hikaru went into battle position.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"There's no need to look so alarmed, little one. I come in peace. I'm Odette, a Swanna. I overheard your conversation just now. Is it true there's a new Pokemon typing?" The Swanna, Odette, asked with her long, broad, pure white wings outstretched. She looked so beautiful, so elegant, and so classy that I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

"Yes. It's true, and...I kinda happen to be one. I'm Sylvia, a Sylveon, and this is Hikaru, a Pikachu," I told her shyly, a little embarrassed at her being curious about my typing.

"My, how very interesting! There haven't been any Pokemon with new types since the dark type and dragon types were discovered way back when, if what I'm hearing is correct. But it's nice to see some new things every once in a while. Are you two heading to Driftveil City by any chance?" Odette proclaimed.

"Yes, we are. Well, we're actually trying to get to a place called Floccesy Town. Do you know anything about it or where it is?" I asked politely.

Odette scratched her head with one of her wings, and shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry darling, but even though I've heard of it, I've never been there, so I'm afraid I can't help you."

I figured as much. "That's okay. Not very many people or Pokemon know about it. Thanks anyway!"

"You're welcome. Oh! Since you're heading to Driftveil, I need to warn you about something. See, there's this rogue Charmeleon on the loose," Odette said, flying down in front of us and putting her wing up to her beak, keeping her voice in a low whisper.

"A Charmeleon? What's that?" I asked, confused. I never heard of a Charmeleon before until now.

"It's a Pokemon. They normally live in the Kanto region. What would one be doing in Unova?" Hikaru asked, sounding just as confused as I was.

"Apparently, this Pokemon escaped from the clutches of evil researchers from an underground facility where they do bad things to Pokemon to satisfy human curiosity. Anyway, he's terribly feral, volatile, and very unreasonable. He goes around, setting everything he can on fire with his Flamethrower attack, not caring at all about the damage he's causing. I've heard from witnesses that many people have died because of his carelessness and callousness!"

I stepped back a few steps. A Pokemon has gone around killing people? I know humans have done things like that in the past, but there are good people out there. But...I've never heard of a Pokemon actually taking human lives. I shivered at the thought of a Pokemon killing humans. Why would any Pokemon do such a thing? It'd be one thing if they did it by accident or had a good reason, even though having a good reason doesn't justify it regardless, but...this Pokemon's killing for no reason at all!

"Is this Pokemon insane or something? Why does he kill people?" Hikaru asked.

"Yes, he's very insane, and by insane, I mean very much not right in the head. That much is understandable considering what he went through. I'm afraid he goes around killing without any good reason other than for his own amusement. I think that's just deplorable! Don't you?" Odette told us.

"Jeez! And I thought humans were bad!" Hikaru proclaimed loudly.

"Where is this Charmeleon?" I asked frightfully. "And what does he look like?"

"It's very easy to notice him, as there aren't any Charmeleon in Unova. He's about your height, Sylvie, with a flat horn coming out from the back of his head. He has blue eyes, a tan belly, and a flame on his tail. You don't see Pokemon like that in Unova, now do you?" Odette described his appearance in detail. I didn't recall ever seeing a Pokemon meeting that description, so I couldn't quite picture what he'd look like. "I'm not trying to scare you kids or anything. I just want to give you an advanced warning so you don't get hurt, and if you see him, run away at all costs. He's immensely powerful from what I've heard, and once he confronts you or corners you, he'll do everything in his power to roast you, and he'll show no mercy at all."

"Okay that's enough let's get outta here!" Overcome with fear, I ran straight for Driftveil City. Hikaru followed me from behind. She could tell that I was having enough of hearing about this evil Charmeleon. I ran so fast that I didn't realize that we wound up getting off the end of the bridge until I saw a lush green field opening up before me, with some people walking around and about, minding their own business. Hikaru came up to me with a worried look.

"You sure do get scared easily, don't you?" Hikaru said.

"I can't help it!" I snapped frightfully. She didn't even move an inch when I did that.

"I know, and I understand. But who knows? Maybe we won't even see this Charmeleon. You can't live your life being afraid of everything," Hikaru told me as she put a paw on my shoulder.

In my fright, I was about to say something like, "Well, you didn't get separated from your family when you were really little!" until I stopped myself the minute I thought of it. Hikaru's been through much worse than I have, and if I said something that hurt her feelings, our newfound friendship might be destroyed, and I had finally managed to make her come out of her shell, too. I didn't want to ruin things between us, so I kept my mouth shut. Once I calmed down, I followed Hikaru out of the grassy area, across another, much smaller and much sturdier grey bridge, into a town with many houses with orange roofs. Some of them looked like they were made out of steel. There were lots of trees around, though the concrete below my feet was pretty dirty and messy.

We then went under this big white tent to find a bunch of people behind counters, selling all sorts of stuff like food, PokeBalls, incenses, nutrient bottles, other stuff, along with a bunch of rare stuff I couldn't put a name to. Lots of people gathered around to buy stuff, and they looked so busy minding their own business that they were far too preoccupied with what they were doing to notice the two of us. It was kinda funny that people didn't notice two Pokemon not indigenous to Unova walking among them, like the first ever fairy type and a Pikachu who has a T shaped scar on her tail. Then again, people crowded among us, and even though I didn't bump into anyone, I still felt like I was being squished by a bunch of marshmallows. The air around me was getting thin, making it a little hard to breathe, though I wasn't choking. This must have been what Darien talked about when he said he was claustrophobic, meaning he doesn't like being in small, compressed places. Even Hikaru agreed that this marketplace was a little too crowded for our tastes.

"Let's get out of here. I feel like I'm gonna get squished or stepped on," Hikaru mused.

"I agree. Let's...huh?" I put a paw to my chest to convey my agreeing with her until I noticed something was missing.

The beige ribbon and silver S shaped charm that Serena made for me was gone.

"Oh no! My ribbon!" I screamed and started running around like a crazy maniac, trying to find it. Hikaru looked shocked when she saw me go ballistic, but she followed me around.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking worried.

"My beige ribbon! It's gone! I can't find it!" I screamed hysterically. I didn't notice that people started to look at me.

"Your ribbon?"

"Serena made it for me when I was an Eevee! It's the only way anyone I know will recognize me as Sylvia!"

"Calm down, Syl. Let's retrace our steps. Do you remember having it before we went into the market?" Hikaru put both paws on my shoulders, which made me stop running around crazily. I ruminated and remembered.

"Yes. I remember touching it when you were comforting me back by the statue," I said.

"Let's go back from there and retrace our steps. Ok?" Hikaru said. I nodded and we went back to the statue in the grassy area. Hikaru and I spent about a few minute searching every corner of that area, but I didn't see it anywhere.

"Did you find it, Syl?" Hikaru asked as we met back in front of the statue.

I shook my head abjectly. "No."

"Well, it's not here. Maybe it's out on the street somewhere."

"What if someone picked it up or threw it away?"

"Then we can look through all the trash cans we see!"

"But what if the trash had already been taken away?" I could feel myself about to burst into an epic paroxysm of tears when I said that in my worried voice.

"Let's just go and find it! It's important to you, isn't it?" Hikaru yelled and ran ahead of me. I was about to follow her until a cute voice stopped me from doing so.

"Excuse me! Is this yours?" I turned around to find a Minccino with a pale green ribbon on her head, holding a beige ribbon with a silver S shaped charm in her paw.

A beige ribbon with a silver S shaped charm...I literally exploded with joy and screamed the minute I laid my big, pale blue eyes on it.

"You found it! You found it!" I yelped as I grabbed it from her paw and jumped up and down happily. Hikaru came back and was a bit flummoxed by my excessive excitement until I calmed down. "Thank you thank you thank you! Where'd you find it?"

"It was on the ground just around here. I saw you screamin' about it, so I figured it was yours," The Minccino told me in her sweet voice.

I was about to hug her until I noticed that there's a lot of dirt and smudge on it, like someone had thrown a big fat pile of dirt on it. "Oh...it's dirty..."

"I can help with that!" The Minccino said as she grabbed my ribbon and suddenly began wiping it with her long, sleek tail.

"I hear that Minccino are cleanaholics, so much so that if they see anything that's dirty, even if it's not theirs, they'll clean it up vigorously until it's shining and spotless. They're HUGE perfectionists about that," Hikaru mused as she watched the Minccino clean up my ribbon and charm.

"I see," I muttered.

"Here ya go!" The Minccino threw it into my paw so fast it almost looked invisible.

"Do you want me to tie it on?" Hikaru asked as she took the ribbon into her paws.

"Sure."

"Where do you want it?"

"Under this neck ribbon I have."

Hikaru gently tied it around my neck, under the ribbon that's stuck to it. She had to get on my back in order to tie it nice and tight so it doesn't fall off, but once she tied it, I couldn't help but feel like I just got my identity back.

"There we go!" Hikaru said.

"Thanks! Oh! Minccino, thank-huh?" I was going to tell the Minccino how grateful I was for her returning and cleaning my ribbon until I saw that she wasn't there anymore, and nowhere in sight. It was like she had disappeared into thin air or something.

"Where'd she go?" Hikaru asked.

"I dunno. But I'm glad she found it for me. I wish I could have thanked her properly," I mused quietly, rubbing the charm on my ribbon, glad to finally have it back.

However, that Minccino not only reunited me with my ribbon, but also with something else. Someone else. Someone I never thought I'd ever see again.

"Minko! Minko, where are you?"

A high pitched but pretty lady voice appeared from behind one of the houses. Soon, a very pretty Espeon appeared in front of us. I knew about Espeon because my mother was one, and Lucretia said she wanted to be one when she grew up, just like mother. We also saw pictures of our evolutions in a book once that Vicky showed us. That's what made us decide we wanted to evolve into certain evolutions, and this Espeon was particularly beautiful, with long, pointed ears, pale, lavender purple fur that covered her entire body, little fur protrusions coming out from both sides of her face, glinting deep bluish indigo eyes that looked like they could see a very long way, and a little red gem on her forehead, right in between her eyes, in the shape of a little circle. Her legs are long, slender and sleek, and her tail, while two-tipped, moved around fluidly as she wagged it. She walked so elegantly and so primly, it looked like she was walking right on top of water. But she stopped walking when she saw us.

"Hello, you two! I'm sorry to startle you. Have you seen a Minccino around? Her name's Minko, and..." The Espeon said in her nice voice, but she stopped and began looking at me in curiosity. I recoiled a little bit out of embarrassment because she started to come very close, close to invading my personal space, but I got too shy to say anything. But then I noticed she was intently looking at the charm that Hikaru just put back on me. As soon as she gazed upon it with her eyes, her small little face literally lit up like a flashlight, completely overcome with joy.

"Sylvie?! Sylvie, is that you?! Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! You look so different! But that's the charm Serena gave you, isn't it?! Do you remember me?! It's me, Lucretia! Your big sister!" The Espeon exclaimed cheerfully and loudly, inundating me with her excessive cheer.

I couldn't believe what I just heard. This Espeon is...Lucretia? She evolved? And she recognized me right off just because I have this charm on me? And that Minccino is apparently one of her friends? As soon as she said all of those things, I suddenly started blubbering like a baby. So many of my repressed emotions suddenly sprawled out of me like a tsunami of water, unable to be kept locked in anymore.

"Lu...Lu...Lulu?! Luluuuuuu!" I wailed and glomped her, tightly wrapping my slender paws around her. Lucretia didn't mind one bit, she hugged me and cried a little too while allowing me to do most of the crying. I cried hard enough for the both of us. I couldn't believe that I ran into my big sister in Driftveil City of all places, and that she evolved into the Pokemon she dreamed to be, just like Mother. I missed her slightly vain ways, her cheerful and sunny personality, her helpful advice, her playful attitude, her sweet voice, and her kindness. I missed Lucretia in general, and it seems she missed me. Finally, after I finished crying, she let me go.

"Wow! Look at you, Sylvie! So is this really your new evolution? You look sooooo cute and adorable and beautiful, Sylvie! It's like it was tailor made for you! So what's your species name and what type are you?" Lucretia exclaimed, really liking my evolution. I couldn't help but blush a bit.

"I'm a Sylveon. The second one in the world to be exact, and...the first ever fairy type," I muttered shyly, still comprehending the fact that my sister is here and that she evolved.

"Sylveon? Fairy type? Oh! I heard about that on TV! So...what happened to you? And...who's your friend?" Lucretia asked, then took a glance at Hikaru.

"Oh! This is my new friend Hikaru. She's a Pikachu!" I introduced Hikaru to her. Lucretia smiled sweetly and Hikaru bowed before her politely.

"It's nice to meet you," Hikaru said.

"Oh, but then again, this place is a bit too open. Let's go somewhere private so we can spend some alone time together. You can come too, Hikaru!" Lucretia said.

Soon, we found ourselves following her into a little patch of grass behind some bushes, just outside of Driftveil a little bit, into the next route. Once we sat down, I told her about everything that had happened to me, all the way down to the littlest detail I remembered, from those people catching me as I went to get the ball to having to leave Heidi behind. I talked the most about what the scientists did to me to study me, forcing me to evolve, our escape attempt that ended with Claudia getting recaptured, watching Katie kill herself and my failed attempts to tell people about it in time, and my time with Hikaru. She didn't interrupt me at all. She just sat there silently and listened very intently, drinking in everything I told her. She didn't interject or contradict me or anything. Hikaru listened too, even though I already told her everything earlier.

"Ohhh. So that's what happened," Lucretia said. "You've been through quite a lot, haven't you, little sister?"

I nodded. She smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're alright."

"So...what happened at Floccesy Ranch? What happened after I went missing?" I asked. I needed to ask this. It had been bugging me like a persistent Weedle ever since I found myself evolved into a Sylveon. Lucretia looked away and down at the grass, smoothing it out with her front paw. A very dejected expression creeped onto her small little face, which made me think it was grim.

"Mary and Mali saw you get captured. They tried to get you back, but the scientists knocked them out. They came and told us everything. I broke down crying. Father didn't say anything. He just looked sad and fell silent. Mother kept her cool, then cried in her room when she was alone. Konoha and Yuki began worrying about what would happen to them. Alseides...ugh! Just thinking about his reaction makes me so angry!" She stamped one of her paws into the grass, smushing some of it into the dirt. "He outright claimed that you deserved to get kidnapped! He said it was your comeuppance for letting Bolt get caught. He and Vapor got into another fight, and it got so bad that even Father and Mother couldn't stop Al from going on a rampage. Darien knocked him out, but I couldn't believe how insensitive he was! But then again, ever since Moondancer left, Al suddenly began changing. He's not the happy and energetic Eevee he used to be. About a week after that, he ran away. We don't know what happened to him. It was about two months afterward that I got adopted by Redena," Lucretia explained.

I was happy that she, Mother, Father, and everyone else worried about me and wondered where I was even after so long, but Alseides claimed I deserved to get kidnapped? Is he truly convinced that I let Bolt get caught by Leonard on purpose? Lucretia was right. It did make me angry that he reacted that way and then ran away. He definitely wasn't the happy and energetic Eevee that I used to look up to and who Bolt used to partake in their pranky shenanigans with. I wondered if Moondancer's absence truly did start Alseides' sudden personality change or the fact that we Eevee never truly did belong to Darien after all. She then looked right at me with a courageous look in her eyes. "Now that I know you're alright, if I ever run into Alseides, I'm going to prove to him that it wasn't your fault and give him a good spanking!"

I giggled a little. She always was the mother figure out of us Eevee siblings. "Yeah. So...what happened to you? You said you got adopted?"

Her cheerful and sunny demeanor came back. "I'm glad you asked! After we all recovered from the shock of Alseides running away, I saw a Pokemon Musical on TV! That's a stage performance where Pokemon dress up in costumes, dance to music in the background, and do tricks with props to awe an audience! It was so wonderful and so enchanting, I decided I wanted to be a star! And apparently Lady Luck was really shining on me, because a week after that, Redena came to the ranch. She's a young trainer from a rich family who trains Pokemon to be stars in the Pokemon Musical while also training them to help people in need. I begged Mother and Father to let me go with her, and they gave me their blessing. I was so happy, because Redena is such a delightful young woman! She's pretty, nice, caring, compassionate, and she cares for all Pokemon. She also doesn't just see them as performers she can train, but also recognizes that we're individuals too. She treats us all like her best friends, and was very happy when I evolved into an Espeon about two months ago. You should have seen how happy I was when I evolved. Not only that, I got praised for my performances in two Pokemon Musicals in the last month! How great is that?!"

"I'm happy for you, big sister. Glad to see Redena's treating you and your friends well," I told her.

"Are you sure she's not some cheapskate trying to use you for her own ends?" Hikaru piped in bitterly.

"Hikaru! Don't say stuff like that!" I scolded, surprised that Hikaru would say such a thing about my sister's trainer.

"Sure I am. If she was a cheapskate who was using me for her own ends, I'd know about it. I'm a psychic type. We psychic type Pokemon can sense whether our trainers are lying or not, and I'm very sure that Redena is not treating me like an object she can use," Lucretia told her. I have to admit, I was surprised that she managed to keep her cool and not flip out. If Hikaru said something like that to Bolt or Alseides, they'd get angry and attack her or challenge her to a battle. I wish I had some way of being able to find out whether people are lying or not.

"Sorry about that. She's been through a lot of really bad things, that's all. Don't take it personally," I told Lucretia, hoping that she wouldn't get the wrong idea about what Hikaru said.

"It's alright! I totally understand! Lots of Pokemon we know have been through some bad things, so I know how she feels," She said cheerfully. Hikaru hmphed and turned her head away, like she didn't like what she just heard. Then, her face became brighter than ever. "Oh! Sylvia! How about you and Hikaru come with us?!"

"What?!" I yelped so much I walked two steps backward, almost tripping over Hikaru. I was shocked not just by her suggestion, but how sudden and blunt it was.

"You two can join me in being Redena's Pokemon! You can both become stars of the Pokemon Musical and travel all throughout the world with us without worrying about getting kidnapped or released or treated badly or hurt by wild Pokemon or food shortages or anything! Ah! I can see it now! You and me, on that big stage with the audience cheering for us with their whole hearts, the spotlights shining down on us as we dance our way to fame and glory! Just the two of us sisters, together, on the same stage, under the same spotlight, sharing the praise, the hardship, and the joy! It would be so wonderful! The first ever fairy type in a Pokemon Musical! You even have the cute looks to go with it, so you can win the audiences' hearts even more!" I giggled a little as she started dreaming about what it'd be like if we both got to be performers in a Pokemon Musical together. I missed her dreaming happily about things she'd like to do and be out loud, not caring over whether people thought she was being silly or not. But then she looked at me and her indigo eyes moistened a bit as she put her paw on top of mine. "Sylvia...my dear little sister...we haven't been together in so long. I really missed you, and I'll be so sad if I have to be separated from you again, just as we finally got to reunite. But if you want, you can decline. You don't have to perform or do anything. I just miss you so much."

She was right. I felt the same way as her. After so many months, maybe about a year, of being separated from my family, I finally managed to reunite with my big sister Lucretia. I was so happy, so joyful, so completely elated when she recognized me right off despite my newfound evolution, and I cried so hard when I accepted the fact that she was there and evolved into the Pokemon she dreamed of. In the depths of my heart right then, I honestly considered joining her. I wanted to go with her, stay with her forever, train under Redena's watchful eye, make friends with the other Pokemon she knows, train to be a performer in the Pokemon Musical, and perform in front of a live audience with her and Hikaru at my side. If I went with her, I wouldn't have to worry about people chasing me, capturing me, using me for their own ends, and I wouldn't be hunted by bad Pokemon. If I joined her, I'd probably never ever meet that rogue Charmeleon who's been hurting people, and meeting that Charmeleon was the last thing I ever wanted. I wouldn't dare run into him if anyone found a way to change me back to an Eevee! Not only that, if I went, Hikaru would come too, and she could be happy. If this Redena person was as nice as Lucretia claims her to be, then Hikaru can be treated well. She could finally have some happiness when she's been so deprived of it for the majority of her life. I wanted to stay with my big sister and not have to worry about anything at all! I could be safe from all danger and not have to fight for survival, like Hikaru has done for so long!

However, the more I thought about accepting her offer, the more I thought about the drawbacks that would come with accepting it. If I went with her, I probably would be bereaved of the opportunity to be able to go back to Floccesy Ranch. I wouldn't be able to tell Mother and Father that I'm alive and okay, and I was sure they were ever so worried about me. I wouldn't be able to check and see if all my brothers were alright. I wouldn't be able to go out and find Alseides and see if he's doing okay, if what I heard from Lucretia is true about him running away. Plus, even if I accepted the offer, I didn't think Hikaru would be happy about performing in front of an audience. It'd probably remind her too much of what she went through when she was under that Liam Nimoy guy's care. That, and I'm normally a shy Pokemon myself and I didn't think I'd like being watched and expected to do exceptionally well in front of people. If I screwed up a performance, the audience and fellow performers would hate me. I'm not well known for being helpful in certain situations, and I've been scolded very often about screwing things up, even when I didn't mean to screw up. I wasn't sure if I'd be good at performing, and if I really wasn't, I didn't want to be a burden on her. Also, I wasn't sure what I'd do with my life. I wasn't sure what I wanted to be. Do I want to be a part of a trainer's ensemble of Pokemon? Do I want to be a performer in a Pokemon Musical? Do I want to be wild and forever live freely? Do I want to stay at Floccesy Ranch forever? I thought that if I told Mother and Father that I was safe and well, I'd be able to decide what I wanted to be.

After a while, I made my decision. I looked Lucretia in the eyes. She looked a little confused.

"Lucretia...you're my big sister, and I love you so much. I'm so happy that I got to see you again and let you know that I'm safe. I'm happy that you evolved into your dream Pokemon and that you're being treated well. I'd honestly love to go with you. However...see, I don't know what I want to be yet. I don't know whether I want to be with a trainer or stay in the wild or something of the sort. I don't know if I'll ever be helpful to you or anyone else, and I don't want to burden you. I...I do, however, want to at least tell Mother and Father and maybe the brothers that I'm alive and well. I don't want them to go on worrying about me or thinking that I died or ran away or something like that. So...I'm going to have to decline on your offer. I'm sorry, Lulu," I told her as calmly and lucidly as I could, hoping I said it in a way that wouldn't hurt her feelings, though I thought I probably did regardless of how I said it. The red gem on Lucretia's head glowed a bit, and a tiny rock floated in the air up to her eye level, surrounded by a blue light. With a flick of her head, the rock flew to a nearby pond and got swallowed up by the water as soon as it made contact with it. She looked a little dejected, but she smiled.

"I figured you'd say something like that, Sylvie. You always want to try things out and patch things up and check every little thing before deciding on something. That's what I love best about you. You never overlook anything, even little things. But I still wish you'd come with us. It's a dangerous world out there, Sylvia. There's just as much bad people and Pokemon as there are good people and Pokemon. Lady Luck may not shine on you like it did me. I really want to protect you and make sure nothing bad happens to you. But...I know that if I did that, I'd take away your freedom, and I don't want you to not make your own decisions," Lucretia told me. "Also, you're not a burden. Who's been telling you that?"

"Don't you remember that time I broke a lot of Darien's plates and accidentally scared the Mareep? You all yelled at me about that," I told her.

"You were just a baby back then. You didn't know better. Is this because of Alseides?"

"Uh..." I didn't know how to respond to that, and that was because it was true.

"Alseides is wrong. You didn't deserve to get kidnapped, and it's not your fault Bolt got caught either. That happens to a lot of Pokemon. Heck, there are some Pokemon out there who want to be with trainers, me included, so don't think it's your fault every time a Pokemon gets caught by a trainer. There are some things in this world that we have no control over no matter what we do. Don't think you have to be responsible for every little thing in life. That'd be too big a burden for anyone to carry," Lucretia told me bluntly, her voice rising a little but not in an angry way. "Besides, it's just like that Serperior told you about that girl Katie. Even if you did save her, if her sadness and hatred is strong enough, she might have tried to kill herself again regardless of whether you care about her or not. But if someone is in trouble or is sad and lonely, just let them know that you care. Sometimes a little kindness can go a very long way. You'd be surprised at how far it can go."

I smiled. I knew that last part from experience. My being kind to Hikaru has helped her shed some of her anger and managed to convince Twilight and Poppy to change their attitudes about her. Being kind to Serena made me realize that even though she has a disability, it's not like she wanted it or that she acts the way she does because she wants to. Being kind to Serena taught me that she's more than just disabled, but a person just like everyone else.

Lucretia stood up. "Well, I guess I should let you get back on your journey, since you made your decision. I have no right to change your mind, so I wish you Godspeed."

"Huh? Godspeed? What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Hikaru asked, looking very confused. I was flummoxed as well.

"Haha! I heard Redena use it a few times. She says it means to wish someone good fortune or good will, mostly when they're embarking on a journey or attempting a daring endeavor," Lucretia explained.

"That sounds silly!...but it sounds kinda cool, too," Hikaru said.

"I like it!" I proclaimed.

Lucretia smiled brightly. I loved seeing her smile. She looks better with a smile than with tears. Her smile was always one of her best and most endearing qualities. "Good. You've really grown up a lot, Sylvia. I hope you make it back to Floccesy Ranch. If you ever make it and want to come visit me, Redena and I will always be here in Driftveil unless we go on vacation somewhere for a month, whether it's to other cities or even regions!" She then looked down at Hikaru and gave her a gentle stroke on the head with her paw. "Hikaru? Take good care of Sylvia for me. Okay? She may be strong now, but she's still my little sister, and she isn't fully mature yet, so help her out when she needs it. You are her friend, after all," Lucretia told her kindly and politely.

"Thanks. I'll do my best. I hope Redena treats you well and best wishes," Hikaru said.

"Okay. Well, I guess it's goodbye for now. Like I said, Redena and I are always here so you can always come and visit whenever you want. Bye Hikaru and Sylvia! Bye-bye!" Lucretia exclaimed and waved goodbye to me and Hikaru. We did the same, and we watched as she hopped behind the bushes and left. Secretly, however, we both followed her only to find her being welcomed into the arms of a very pretty young woman with long, beautiful black hair with a myriad of curls trailing all the way down to her lower back, covered by a white sun hat with a pale purple ribbon on it, matching Lucretia's fur perfectly. She's also wearing a long, flowing, sleeveless, pale pink dress with some flowers embroidered on the skirt hemline and white slip-on shoes. The Minccino from before, Minko, is right by her side.

"Lucretia! There you are! You and Minko are always exploring when I'm not looking. It's time for lunch!" The lady, probably Redena, told her happily as Lucretia lovingly rubbed herself against her chest. Soon, all three of them went into one of the orange roofed houses, looking very happy and content.

"Wow. I'll bet you never expected to run into one of your siblings," Hikaru said.

"Yes. But I know one of them is okay," I mused quietly.

"You should have gone with her. You could stay with her forever."

"I know. But I want to tell Mother and Father that I'm alright. Then I'll decide what to do with my life."

"You have a family. I don't."

"Yes you do! You have me!"

Hikaru looked right at me with a surprised expression. She said nothing, but I figured she was deeply touched by what I said. Why did I tell Hikaru this? She's been through so much in her life and doesn't know what it means to have a true friend or a family. I thought that by being her friend, maybe when I get back to Floccesy Ranch, perhaps Mother and Father can take care of her and teach her the value of family, even though Hikaru's much too strong to be taken care of. Plus, she's one of my good friends. She needs some kindness or else she may crack someday.

"Alright. Let's move," Hikaru said and left. I followed suit.

We went down a pretty forest full of lush green trees and Pokemon running around happily. Most of the Pokemon I saw were Deerling. I liked watching them frolic and play and chase each other. It reminded me of when Bambi and I used to play together when we were young. Oh, how my heart yearned to see Bambi again, just like how I got to see Lucretia again. One of the Deerling noticed me staring, but instead of sounding angry, it waved at me with its hoof. I waved back with a smile, and it went back to playing with its friends.

Later, we found a cave that seemed to be overloaded with electricity. Hikaru suddenly went inside.

"Wait! We could get lost!" I advised with a worried tone in my voice.

"Sometimes getting lost can be a good thing. You gotta take some chances if you wanna get back to Floccesy Ranch!" Hikaru called back.

"Do you know if this is the right way?"

"No, but someone's gotta know something about your ranch, right?"

She had a good point. I was reluctant to go in at first, especially since I touched a small rock and it electrocuted me a bit, but after Hikaru started going in further, I didn't want to be left behind so I went in. "Wait for me, Hikaru!"

The cave was a funny shade of blue inside, and normally the insides of caves are supposed to be brown, and the whole thing seemed to be charged with electricity. Every time I walked, I felt a shock run through my body. Rocks floated in the air, suspended in space like some invisible person was holding them. I saw some small, electric spider Pokemon, the same kind I saw at Heidi's house, clinging to the rocks and looking very happy and content. I saw a gear Pokemon fly right past us, not looking like it noticed us or anything. We saw some rock Pokemon move around a little bit. We walked quite a distance, but none of the Pokemon seemed to care about our overall presence, which I thought was weird.

"How come the Pokemon in this cave aren't attacking us?" I asked out of the blue.

"Beats me...and is it just me, or is it starting to get hot in here? I'm starting to sweat," Hikaru replied as she wiped some sweat off of her forehead.

I felt my forehead and felt really warm water on it. I was sweating too. I was about to wonder why until we saw some flickering in the distance. We were about to guess what it was until some Pokemon running away explained it for us.

"EVERYONE GET OUT! THE CAVE'S ON FIRE!" A gear Pokemon screamed hysterically as it flew away from the cave.

Hikaru and I stopped where we were. The cave's on fire?

"A fire Pokemon is destroying everything! Run for your lives!" A spider Pokemon screeched as it and all of its friends ran out of the cave.

A fire Pokemon? One thought came into my head and I immediately became overcome with dread. Soon, flames began to spread around us, but not to a point where we were boxed in. The flames glowed an intense red, orange, and yellow, the blazes dancing around us like they're telling us that they'll roast us if we don't get away. Hikaru and I managed to find another tunnel that led to somewhere else, so we followed it and made it somewhere that wasn't on fire. Unfortunately, we didn't realize until it was too late that we were being followed.

"You alright, Syl?" Hikaru asked, panting and gasping for breath.

"No!" I snapped.

Hikaru was about to tell me something until I saw her ears twitch and she went into a battle stance. This immediately made me think that someone found us.

"Who's there?! You better come out and show yourself! I'm not gonna go easy on you!" Hikaru screamed angrily.

"Hikaru! Don't do this!" I begged, trying to convince her to not battle whoever it is that was following us.

Soon, a Pokemon appeared in front of us. A red lizard about my height, with a horn coming out from the back of its head, and a tail with a flame flickering on it. It has a tan belly, white claws on both its hands and feet, gleaming blue eyes that I could tell had absolutely no compassion, no mercy, nothing in them but hatred. But that wasn't what scared me. What scared me was that this Pokemon matched Odette's description of the Pokemon called Charmeleon.

He's the rogue Charmeleon!

And he set the cave on fire!

Note: Yes. In the games, Deerling can learn Wild Charge. I checked.


	7. Blazing Fires

Chapter 7: Blazing Fires

"Alright! Who are you and why are you terrorizing this cave and the Pokemon in it?!" Hikaru screamed angrily, looking like she really wanted to battle this Charmeleon and give him the spanking he deserved so much. Sparks of yellow electricity crackled and cackled around the pouches on her red cheeks, obviously wanting to let all the thunder and lightning out and let it all run rampant. Me? I just hid behind her, shaking like a leaf on a Sewaddle, completely scared out of my mind.

"So...am I to understand that you two little bumpkins actually want to challenge ME?" The Charmeleon asked in a surprisingly and weirdly high pitched voice, like that of a nine year old boy. As far as I could tell, he looked like he could be the second evolution of a Pokemon, not the first, even though I had no way of knowing that for sure, so why did he sound like a little boy when he looked like he could be very close to his final stage of evolution? That was even more jarring than his appearance. Hikaru didn't seem to notice this detail as she's too busy staring him down with the angry look she gave me when we first met, only this look was literally filled to the brim with rancor and animosity.

"Who are you calling a bumpkin?! I'm only asking you stop terrorizing all these Pokemon for your own amusement!" Hikaru snapped angrily. I didn't understand why she wanted to fight so bad when Odette clearly told us to run if we ever so much as made eye contact with him. I knew a battle like this would be a lost cause, a battle that we both couldn't win, even though we outnumbered him.

"Hikaru! We have to run! Odette said so!" I yanked on her tail with my mouth and tried to drag her away from that fiendish Charmeleon but she refused to budge no matter what I tried. All of a sudden, the Charmeleon jumped from the tunnel he came from, approached us with a curious but bitter look on his face, grabbed Hikaru by the ear and threw her against the wall like she was trash.

"Hikaru!" I tried to run to her aid, but Charmeleon suddenly grabbed one of my flowy streamers really hard and yanked me toward him. It really hurt! He forcibly turned me around and stared down at me with a very scary and frightening face. He looked very intent on killing me. The rancor he had in his glinting eyes was almost blinding, like flames of hatred and animosity were dancing in them at every turn, without any intention of stopping anytime soon. I tried to get away, but I was too frozen with fear to do anything.

"Hmph! You're trash! I might as well burn you and put you out of your misery. Seeing you turn into a charred black corpse will definitely give me great pleasure," Charmeleon hissed in a slithery tone of voice.

"Leave her alone, you bully! Thunderbolt!" Hikaru unleashed a huge thunder bolt and made it rain down on Charmeleon. I wound up getting electrocuted, but I managed to escape once Charmeleon got hit and lost his grip on me. Soon, Hikaru was right in front of me, her cheeks literally spewing electricity.

"It's you and me, pal! Leave her out of this!" Hikaru yelled boldly. I couldn't believe she was protecting me from this evil Charmeleon.

"Out of my way, you worthless piece of junk! I want to see this worthless trash burn at my hand!" Charmeleon yelled as he tried to punch her.

"Iron Tail!" Hikaru's tail glowed in a white light at first, then it looked like it was completely encased in sleek, sharp, shiny, silvery metal. She whipped her tail around and stopped Charmeleon's fist from making contact with me. Not only that, she managed to make Charmeleon step back a few paces.

"You're NOT hurting her! You're gonna have to go through me if you want to lay your grubby claws on her!" Hikaru yelled again.

"Hmph! So be it! You will both BURN!" Charmeleon screamed with a loud voice full of hatred as he was suddenly enveloped by scorching, blinding red flames that turned into a tornado and tried to engulf Hikaru. I found myself able to move again and knocked her out of the way, saving her from the tornado of flames, even though some of them got onto some rocks.

"Volt Tackle!" Hikaru allowed herself to be swallowed by blinding electricity as she charged right at Charmeleon and managed to throw him against a wall, leaving a huge hole in it. But Charmeleon wasn't going to give up. With both of his fists, he knocked Hikaru off of his belly and got back onto the cave floor.

Then he did something so deplorable, so horrendous, so noisome, so utterly horrendous, it would remain firmly planted in my brain for the rest of my life.

As soon as his feet touched the floor, he raised both of his fists into the air, and columns of flames that rose into the air surrounded him like a band of snakes. With a flick of his hands, he unleashed them all onto every single part of the cave. We managed to not get hit by the flames, but the temperature suddenly skyrocketed to boiling hot levels. I felt so hot, so weak, and so inundated by the intense heat that I couldn't move, nor could I stop this Charmeleon from abusing his attack more and more. We were trapped, surrounded by fire, fire, fire! But it wasn't the fire that scared me. I saw some small Pokemon be engulfed by the flames, screaming for help as they got darker and darker until they were reduced to charred remains. I was helpless to save them from this cruel, merciless fate, just like how I was unable to save Katie. It made me sick. I felt like I wanted to throw up.

But that wasn't even the worse part. The worst part was that throughout the entire time he was engulfing this part of the cave in flames that he himself created, Charmeleon was LAUGHING!

Yes, laughing right out loud, like he was having the best time of his life! Like a little kid on a ride in an amusement park. But no, this wasn't the merry laughter I was used to hearing. It was merry, but...not the kind of merry I thought was natural. No, Charmeleon was having fun killing Pokemon and setting everything on fire. This was not something that could make any normal person or Pokemon happy. Nobody could ever see something this sick, this deplorable, and this utterly terrible act as fun, but for Charmeleon, it was like the sight of a room encased in flames made him the happiest Pokemon in the whole world. Watching Katie successfully kill herself was one thing, but watching a Pokemon go around killing everything and everyone around him while laughing like an overly happy drunkard having the best time of his life as the Pokemon he's murdering are crying and pleading for help which will never come...

Naturally, I couldn't stand it, and apparently, neither did Hikaru.

"Discharge!" Hikaru decided to do what Charmeleon did and encase this entire part of the cave in thunder and lightning, finally managing to stop Charmeleon from doing any more damage. The cave literally lit up like a light bulb as Hikaru unleashed her explosion of thunder and lightning, and I was so blinded I had to squeeze my eyes shut in order to preserve my eyesight. Charmeleon's attack stopped, but the flames persisted and continued to engulf everything.

"Why do you get in my way?! Let me have my fun!" Charmeleon sneered, looking like he was getting angrier and angrier by the minute.

"Your fun consists of killing innocent Pokemon and putting everyone in danger! That's why! Now stop what you're doing and get out of here before I do something that'll make you regret ever messing with us and the Pokemon in this cave!" Hikaru yelled. As usual, Charmeleon didn't relent.

Suddenly, he knocked Hikaru away and managed to grab me. He pinned me to the ground, made a fist of his left hand, engulfed it in flames, and began punching me repeatedly. I tried to fight back, but the burning blows were so strong, so painful, and so excruciating that I couldn't move at all. No matter what I tried, Charmeleon refused to release me, and burn marks were beginning to appear all over me. He showed no mercy. He was too strong for me to fight off. His punches came so fast and so swiftly that I couldn't even react in time to force him off of me. It was like he was doing everything in his power to do away with me and not care about what I was feeling. I was only his victim, his prey, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Thankfully, Hikaru, being the bold and strong willed Pikachu that she is, bit Charmeleon's tail so hard that he howled in pain.

"Syl! Run! Find an exit!" Hikaru commanded. Once she got Charmeleon's attention diverted back to her, I managed to find a hole and try to escape through it until a huge horde of the gear Pokemon flew into the flaming room with angry faces and courage in their hearts, surrounding Charmeleon with intent to fight him. One of them promptly shooed Hikaru into the tunnel with me. Even Hikaru looked surprised.

"We are Klink! Go and find an exit! Fast!" The gear Pokemon, Klink, exclaimed in a rather funny, monotone, and robotic voice.

"But you'll get killed! Steel is weak against fire!" Hikaru pleaded.

"No care! Klink will take back Chargestone Cave no matter what! Leave this place or be his dinner! Now run!" Klink shouted. We didn't want to leave Klink and his friends behind, but Charmeleon was too strong for us, and was probably way too strong for even all of them to handle, if what Hikaru just said about steel types being weak against fire attacks was true. We knew this was a lost cause and we couldn't do anything, so we did what Klink said and ran as fast as we could through as many tunnels as we could find. We needed to find an exit or else we'd suffer the fate as the Pokemon that were engulfed in flames.

However, Chargestone Cave, as the Klink called it, didn't exactly have one direct route to an exit. Some of the tunnels we went through, calm and peaceful as they were, felt like they went on forever. Other times it felt like we were going deeper and deeper into the bottom of a cave with no way out. Some Pokemon we ran into helped us out, like the spider Pokemon called Joltik, Tynamo, and Boldore, and they were very helpful despite the danger. As thanks, Hikaru allowed many of the Joltik to feed on her electricity so they could have some to eat and defend themselves with, along with providing them transportation so she could have them escape with us in case Charmeleon tried to follow us and kill us. I was scared that this might make her lose her strength but that didn't prove to be the case because one of the floating stones gave its electricity to Hikaru.

"So this place is called Chargestone Cave, huh?" Hikaru asked one of the Joltik on her back.

"Yep, jolt! This is our home, jolt! It's been filled to the brim with electricity since it was made, jolt!" One little Joltik explained sweetly.

"But I wonder if the fires will be put out, jolt?" Another Joltik asked.

"For that matter, shouldn't that Charmeleon be dealt with, jolt? He's the one causing them, jolt!" Another one piped in bitterly.

"I hope the Klink are okay. Is it true that steel types are weak against fire?" I asked Hikaru, curious as to what she said was true or not.

"Absolutely," Hikaru replied sharply.

"Your electricity is awesome, jolt!" The first Joltik exclaimed happily.

"So what kinda Pokemon are ya, jolt?" A fourth Joltik asked.

"She's a Pikachu," I told them with a smile.

"Pikachu's an electric type, right, jolt?" A fifth Joltik asked.

"Yep! She knows Thunderbolt after all," I told them again.

"What kinda Pokemon are you, jolt?" A seventh Joltik asked me.

"I'm a Sylveon, and before you ask, I'm a new type called fairy," I replied before they could ask me the question everybody asks me.

"Ooooh! Fairy! Sounds nice, jolt!" An eighth Joltik said.

"Lookie, jolt! There's the exit, jolt!" The second Joltik exclaimed. She was right. When Hikaru and I looked up, we saw a small light at the end of the blue tunnel.

"Yay! An exit! Let's go!" I exclaimed and was about to literally run ahead of them, as I had gotten very tired of being in Chargestone Cave. I feared that if I stayed here any longer, Charmeleon might have been able to track us down and kill us, and I really didn't want to deal with him anymore.

Unfortunately, that didn't even matter, as when I tried to run, I felt something yank on one of my flowy streamers, stopping me from going any further. I turned around and, to my utter, unadulterated horror, there was Charmeleon, right behind me, looking at me like he wanted to eat me! If he was here, then there was absolutely and positively no doubt in my mind that the Klink failed in trying to stop his despite their best efforts.

Just like with Claudia, who got recaptured by the Kalos scientists to help me escape, the Klink probably died to save us from Charmeleon's wrath. Only this time, their sacrifice was in vain.

"I have you now, you pink pansy trash!" Charmeleon sneered.

"Joltik! Run! Get out of here!" Hikaru commanded that all the Joltik get off of her and make a run for the exit, which they promptly did without any protest or trepidation whatsoever.

"Jolt jolt jolt jolt!"

"Get off me!" I didn't want to be beaten up by him anymore, so I wound up kicking Charmeleon in the face with both of my back legs. All of a sudden, I found myself in a battle stance, almost looking exactly like Hikaru when she was in battle.

"Trump Card!" I leaped into the air and made the glowing cards appear around me. Then they aimed at Charmeleon and flew right at him, managing to leave some scratches on him. But they weren't enough to defeat him, as he got right back up as soon as he fell back on the cave floor.

"You can't defeat me! I am invincible! You're just an outlet for my desires!" Charmeleon sneered. "You're just trash!"

"You don't have any right to decide that! Swift!" Without meaning to, I found myself shooting a shower of glowing yellow stars at him. But they didn't hit him, as his left fist became enveloped in fire and he used his flaming fist to knock away a lot of the stars. Thankfully, a few of my stars did manage to land some good hits on him. But even they weren't enough to defeat him.

"Thunderbolt!" In case he tried to attack us again, Hikaru shocked him with another one of her signature thunderbolt attacks. Sadly, even that wasn't enough to render him immobile or unable to battle.

"You're a bunch of weak little pansies! You will BURN, or else!" With his face contorted and beet red with anger, just like his red fur, the flame on his tail exploded into a bright, huge blaze, and his eyes looked completely bloodshot as he charged at us with a bellowing howl. Hikaru and I were about to make like the wind and run for our lives, but strangely enough, something came out from one of the many tunnels we came out of really fast and managed to knock Charmeleon right out.

At first we didn't see what it was because it came so fast and looked kinda blurry, but I could see that this Pokemon was a tan color. As Charmeleon was pinned down by it, struggling to break away from its grasp, we both got a better look at this Pokemon. This Pokemon was a big, shaggy, furry, fluffy looking dog Pokemon, with an orangish brown face completely covered with tan fur, and the long stretches of fur coming out from both sides of his face looked like they stretched all the way down to his back feet, they were that long. The rest of his fur is dark blue on the top, and bluish green on the bottom. He had small black eyes and a big, black, oval shaped nose. He had a tiny little dark blue tail sticking out from his rear end. This Pokemon was much bigger than Charmeleon, and easily managed to keep him pinned to the cave ground like it was nothing. The flame on Charmeleon's tail returned to its normal size, but his rancor and animosity didn't go away. Charmeleon howled and tried to break out of this big shaggy dog Pokemon's grasp, but the bigger Pokemon proved to be much stronger than him.

"Get off of me right now!" Charmeleon yelled angrily, trying desperately to break from this dog's grasp, but nothing he did worked one little bit. Hikaru and I couldn't help but watch.

"Dilandau! You must stop this right now!" The big dog Pokemon yelled angrily in a deep, rich voice.

Hikaru and I looked at each other with confusion. Dilandau? That's Charmeleon's real name? Do they know each other? They definitely talked like they did.

"I can't stop, Nicodemus! You know that very well!" The Charmeleon, or Dilandau as we just learned, howled back angrily, referring to the big dog Pokemon as Nicodemus. They really did know each other.

All of a sudden, a pink bubble emerged from Nicodemus' mouth, floating right onto Dilandau's face and popping as it made contact. All of a sudden, Dilandau found that he was growing woozy and couldn't keep his eyes open. He tried as hard as possible, but no matter what he did, his eyes closed against his will, and everything started looking blurry. His rage dissipated and right after his howling stopped completely, his eyes closed and he completely lost consciousness, looking like he just fell asleep, dead on the street. As soon as it was safe, Nicodemus removed himself from Dilandau. Hikaru, bold and strong willed as she is, decided to ask the first thing that was on her mind as soon as she heard Nicodemus refer to Dilandau by name.

"Do you...know this Charmeleon?" Hikaru asked.

"Yes. He and I are comrades. I am very sorry for the trouble he's been causing to both you and the Pokemon in Chargestone Cave," Nicodemus replied softly in his deep voice. I could tell from looking at his face that he very genuinely disapproved of what Dilandau was doing and really looked sorry for all the damage Dilandau caused. Hikaru, however, didn't see what I saw and just got angry.

"Oh what?! Do you think sorry's just gonna magically make the Pokemon he killed come back to life?! Do you even know what that crazy maniac's done?! Or do you actually let him run wild and not do a thing about it?!" Hikaru yelled angrily, and wanted to do more until I put my foot down in front of her.

"Hikaru! Calm down! Don't say stuff like that!" I scolded firmly, hoping Hikaru would stop, and thankfully, she did. Nicodemus looked down at Dilandau with a very abject look, like he had lost all hope or something. I couldn't help but find his dejected expression to be rather unsettling.

"You are right. Dilandau has done many terrible things, yet I am powerless to do anything to both stop him and help him. He and I have been through many horrible ordeals, and they have left great scars on him. Scars that can never be healed no matter what," Nicodemus told us softly in a sad tone of voice.

"So...what Pokemon are you?" I asked softly.

"I am a Stoutland. As Dilandau has said before, my name is Nicodemus. I am his only comrade. I, alone. Hm?" The Stoutland, Nicodemus, told me, then suddenly became curious about my appearance as he looked at me funny.

"In case you're wondering, I'm a Sylveon, and I'm apparently the first ever fairy type. Oh! My name's Sylvia, by the way, and this is Hikaru, a Pikachu," I told him kindly, forcing a smile on my face to let him know that we're not trying to hurt him.

"You used Yawn on him. I thought Stoutland weren't supposed to know that move," Hikaru piped in, calmer this time.

"That is true, yes. But as a result of the experimentation done on me, I know attacks most Stoutland can't. Yawn has proven to be very useful in rendering Dilandau unconscious when he's about to cause trouble, so I don't mind knowing it. What are you two doing in here anyway?" Nicodemus said. "You don't look like you live here."

"I'm trying to get back to my home, Floccesy Ranch. Hikaru's my friend and she joined me recently. But we don't know the way back, so we're traveling around to try and find out how we can get back by any way possible," I told him calmly.

"I wish I could help you in your endeavor, but I haven't any knowledge of this Floccesy Ranch, so I'm sorry," Nicodemus replied in a sad voice. I could tell he really sounded sad and helpless. I wondered if he felt this way about Dilandau.

"It's okay. I figured you wouldn't know anyway," I said.

Nicodemus then proceeded to pick the unconscious Dilandau up and throw him on his big hairy back. "Let's get out of the cave this instant. We can't stay here any longer."

Hikaru and I nodded and we followed him out, even though I could tell that Hikaru really didn't like the idea of Nicodemus taking Dilandau out with them. I silently agreed with her, though in a way, I could tell that Nicodemus is a genuinely good Pokemon, but he probably can't bring himself to leave Dilandau behind out of the kindness of his heart, bad as Dilandau was. Maybe he's the only friend Dilandau has and trusts with his whole heart? He said they're comrades who went through some very bad experiences with scientists. Kind of like me, only the scientists I dealt with, like Dr. Urbschat and Dr. Mingues, treated me kindly even though I was their Tepig for a new evolution. As we walked out of the cave, we were all shocked to find that the sky has been cloaked with a pretty blue and black cloak, gleaming with the starry jewels in the sky, crowned by the moon.

"Wow. We must have stayed in that cave longer than we thought," I suddenly said out of the blue the minute we found ourselves sitting in front of some trees. We could see a nearby town up ahead, but we didn't go there.

"Yeah. It's night time already," Hikaru said.

"I recommend we stay here tonight. You two can go to the village tomorrow morning. It may be too dangerous to get there now," Nicodemus warned us as he placed Dilandau very gently onto the grass.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Wait a minute! Who do you mean _'we'_?! Don't tell me you guys are gonna spend the night with us, too! How do we know this isn't a trick to make us into bait so that Dilandau friend of yours can burn us to a crisp with his Flamethrower?!" Hikaru snapped angrily.

"I do not trick anyone. It is not in my nature, and even if I wanted to, I'm terrible at it. In regards to Dilandau, I will make sure he doesn't do anything, even though I can't guarantee anything. Even I am unable to control him at times, and there is little that I can do once he goes on a rampage," Nicodemus told her kindly and calmly. He looked down at the grass as he said this, and I could see that, from the sad way his eyes looked, it really looked like the look that people who feel horrendously guilty about something often put on. I know I gave Serperior that look once, when Katie died. I almost felt sorry for Nicodemus, whatever he and Dilandau went through together. Hikaru, however, didn't see it that way. As usual.

"Cut the garbage! What are you trying to pull?!" Hikaru yelped, looking like she wanted to shock them both with another Thunderbolt or Discharge, but I stepped in.

"Hikaru! Stop! Yelling at them isn't going to get us anywhere! Nicodemus isn't a bad Pokemon! Can't you see that? Sure, Dilandau's done bad things, but it's not like Nicodemus approves of what he does! There's only so much that he can do to make sure he doesn't do anything worse! Now, go and get some wood. Let's make a fire and sleep for the night, then we can get back to our journey," I told her.

"But Dilandau might wake up and set this whole forest on fire! They come with even more casualties!" Hikaru argued.

"We know that. Nicodemus knows that too. You saw how he knocked him out. If he wakes up, he can use Yawn on him again!"

"But he needs his sleep too! Nobody can stay up all night!"

"Just get some wood!"

Hikaru scoffed and walked away. "If Dilandau wakes up and sets the forest on fire, I'm blaming you, Stoutland!" She shouted before making a break for it into the forest.

Feeling exhausted, tired, and hungry, I fell on my rear end on the ground. I didn't care if I got a little dirty. I just felt tired and really wanted to go to sleep, even though I had to agree with Hikaru. If Dilandau woke up, he could set the forest on fire, and I was still extremely scared of him despite Nicodemus being there. Dilandau showed absolutely no mercy or restraint when killing the Pokemon in Chargestone Cave. If the forest gets set on fire, it could very well go into the nearby town, and kill not just Pokemon but people, too, and maybe even us included! Worse than that, there aren't any water type Pokemon around that we know of, and none of us are water types, so if there were a fire, we'd be unable to put it out, especially if it spreads far enough and if the flames are too strong to be put out. I found myself so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even see Nicodemus sitting down next to me until I saw his shaggy fur.

"I understand your friend's concerns. Yes, it is true that Dilandau is a clear danger to both himself and others. I don't fault you friend for suspecting that I might be a threat too, considering I'm his comrade," Nicodemus said.

"Umm...Nicodemus, sir?"

"Feel free to call me Nico. Some have said that my name is too long."

"Okay, then...Nico? Um...I was wondering...why do you stay with him?"

"I am the only family he has left. If he is alone, he will be much worse off than he is now. I'm not sure if you know, but there's more to his homicidal tendencies than you assume. He's not in his right mind, and he probably never will be. He is beyond all help."

"What happened to the two of you?"

"It mostly starts with me. See, my family and I grew up in an impoverished area with practically no order or infrastructure," Nicodemus began. "Food was scarce, and my wife and children were starving. I had to resort to stealing to give them what they needed. One day, I was caught in the act, and given up to some scientists. I assume that my wife and children are dead now. Anyway, that was when I met Dilandau, as a Charmander. He had been separated from his family, and his brothers had been killed long beforehand. That's what made him develop his pathological fear of being alone. I wound up taking him under my wing. I couldn't stand to see such a tiny Pokemon be scared and upset, especially in the environment that we were trapped in. However, despite our growing bond, I was helpless and unable to save him from the horrors that those blasted scientists put him through. I don't know what experiments they put him through, but as far as I know, they were very cruel and horrifying, and they practically destroyed him from the inside out. He used to be very sweet, but they turned Dilandau into a monster...and all because they were curious as to whether a Pokemon's full power could be unleashed if they performed some modifications on him. They're unaware of the damage they do to us Pokemon by doing that. His mental state has deteriorated to the point where he's so unstable he could break, and he has lost all self-control. Whatever they did to him, they made sure to eradicate every single shred of his individuality."

So that was what happened. I really felt sorry for both Nicodemus and Dilandau, Nicodemus for being forced away from his family like I was and being unable to save both them from their doom and Dilandau from being tortured by those scientists, and Dilandau for pretty much whatever those scientists put him through. Now I can see why Nicodemus follows Dilandau around: he's all that Dilandau has, and Dilandau's all he has too. They needed each other, Nicodemus because he lost his wife and children to starvation, and Dilandau because he needed someone to care for him and help him when he needs it, even though he's beyond both help and reason. It's no wonder Nicodemus always looked and felt so horrendously guilty. He fully acknowledged that what Dilandau's been doing is wrong and continues to disapprove of it, even though there isn't much he can do to stop him from committing all of this genocide. However, none of what they went through justified what Dilandau did. I knew this for a fact. I'm sure Nicodemus did too. But then again, if Hikaru and I were subjected to whatever they went through, we'd probably come out the same way Dilandau did. I didn't want to even think about turning into a Pokemon like Dilandau. I looked up at the stars to try and take my mind off of that thought, and it worked like a charm.

"The stars are pretty. I've been so focused on my journey that I never took the time to see how beautiful they are," I mused to myself quietly, though Nicodemus heard me.

"Yes. They're truly exquisite. Nothing can taint them," Nicodemus muttered,

"Got some firewood!" Hikaru suddenly interrupted our stargazing with her comment, arrival, and the fact that she literally threw a bunch of sticks right in front of us like they were trash. Without a word, she let a small wave of electricity loose on the wood, and a flickering orange and red flame popped out from it, lighting up our resting area.

"Thanks, Hikaru!" I told her happily, but she just laid down on some dirt and sulked without a word. I did feel that was rude of her, but I figured she'd be angry if I said that to her so I said nothing.

"Go and get some sleep, Sylvia. Sleep is imperative to one's health. You'll need it for your journey back home. I'll keep watch for now," Nicodemus whispered as he gently tapped me on the back with his front paw.

"But you need sleep too, like Hikaru said," I said. I worried that if they all fell asleep and Dilandau woke up, he'd probably go around setting things on fire and killing every Pokemon or person he crossed paths with. I didn't want that to happen.

"I know. If I get too sleepy, I'll wake Hikaru up and have her keep watch for a while. Go on and get some rest," Nicodemus said.

This time, I relented. "Thank you for telling me your story, and I know you're a good Pokemon. And thanks for helping us back in Chargestone Cave. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Sylvia," Nicodemus whispered as I laid down next to Hikaru and fell asleep. I had to admit, it didn't feel too nice to sleep on dirt and rocks, but I knew I had to put up with it or else I'd be too tired to go on. It was already late enough as it was, and even though I was scared with the fact that Dilandau was nearby and the revelation that he could wake up any moment, I tried not to think about it. Maybe Nicodemus or Hikaru can handle him better than I could. With that in mind, I drifted off to sleep, steadily losing consciousness.

I don't remember how long I slept, but I do remember being woken up by my greatest fear.

"FIRE!"

A Pokemon's voice pulled me out of my sleep, and I woke up to yet another horrific sight. Just as I feared, the forest was completely engulfed in walls of ephemeral shades of red, orange, and yellow, with huge, thick, ugly clouds of noisome grey and black smoke going up into the sky, dirtying the sky and air up above. I saw some humans dressed in yellow outfits and big red hats going into the blaze with big hoses, trying to contain the flames. Some water Pokemon, mostly Marill and Azumarill, helped out, along with many other water Pokemon I didn't recognize. Fire trucks came to the scene, and the eerie echoes of the sirens blared all through the night. I found myself on Nicodemus' back, far away from the flames, with Hikaru at our side.

But Dilandau was nowhere in sight.

"What happened?!" I yelped as I saw the flames eating up the forest like it was nothing.

"We failed to keep Dilandau in line! He woke up before all of us and set fire to the forest!" Nicodemus roared.

"I TOLD you we should have made a break for it when we had the chance, Syl! We all knew Dilandau was gonna pull this off sometime!" Hikaru yelled at me, like I was the one who started everything, even though I knew she only yelled because she was angry, not because she really blamed me for anything.

However, I wondered if people and Pokemon were really inside, stopping him from going on his rampage. I saw firemen find some injured Pokemon and take the survivors to safety, and some water Pokemon went in to put out the flames even further...but did anyone ever even see Dilandau?

I don't know what was in me that time, but on an impulse, I hopped off of Nico's back and raced into the forest.

"Sylvia, no! You'll be burnt to a crisp!" Hikaru tried to grab me and make me stay back, but I was too fast for her despite being bigger than her.

I went pretty deep into the blazing forest, and the deeper I went, the higher the temperature rose, and by the time I went in about twenty feet, I was completely covered in sweat. Thankfully, I saw no Pokemon getting hurt. But the sight before me was utterly frightening. Trees were being swallowed by flames, turning into nothing but charred black sticks. One big flaming tree branch almost fell on me but I managed to evade it without touching it, so I was spared from getting permanent burns. The ground below me felt hot too, even though the places I touched weren't engulfed in flames. I saw some frantic Pidove and Tranquill fly right above me, trying to get away as fast as they could.

"Dilandau! Dilandau! Where are you?! Come on out, please!" I called out for him, but I didn't see him until I heard a sound I really didn't want to hear in a forest engulfed by huge, scorching flames, as it was really out of place.

Laughter.

I followed it and finally managed to find Dilandau, unabashedly and unashamedly using Flamethrower on every tree or bush he saw, intent on seeing everything burn.

"Burn! Burn! BURN!" Dilandau screeched in between Flamethrowers while laughing at the same time. I couldn't believe it. First he sets fire to a cave and kills a bunch of Pokemon it it, and now he was setting fire to a forest that could potentially kill both Pokemon and people, and if unattended, it could spread as far as the town.

What made me even angrier was that Dilandau didn't even seem to realize or care that what he was doing was wrong. Someone had to knock some sense into him. I didn't care if he went through bad things that made him into the way he was. It still wasn't right to just go around hurting Pokemon and people just for his own amusement. I knew exactly what Hikaru felt back then.

"STOP IT!" Unable to take it anymore, I rammed myself against Dilandau's back, causing him to stop his attacks and fall to the ground. I was reminded of that time Alseides yelled at me about Bolt, only I stood up for myself back then. Now it was time to call Dilandau out on his evil acts. Someone had to do it. Why not me?

"Stop! Just stop all of this incessant slaughter right now! Do you even realize how much damage you're doing to everything and everyone around you?! Have you even thought about what your actions might to do the Pokemon and people around you?! Have you even considered how they felt about you destroying everything?! Why can't you understand how they feel?! Why do you do this?! You can't just go around doing whatever you please if it means causing pain and suffering to whatever you're destroying! It's wrong! Wrong wrong wrong!" I yelled and screamed with all that my voice could muster. I didn't even know I had that much courage and valor in me, and I was one of the shy and meek ones in my family. "How can you do this to innocent Pokemon and people who haven't even done anything to you?! If you really want to express your anger and frustration, go ahead! But don't murder everyone and make innocent Pokemon and people who didn't do anything to you suffer horribly! That won't solve anything! That'll just make your anger and hatred worse, you crazy nutbag!"

Despite my screaming at him, Dilandau got back up and immediately clenched his claw against my throat. "You know NOTHING about me, you trash! Let me have my fun! Or do you want me to do the same to you?!"

Fun? That's what all of this slaughter was about? FUN? Now I was mad. I didn't know how I did it then, but all of a sudden, I found myself glowing in a pale blue light that looked like a little mini tornado. Then, it all moved to the front of my mouth to form a big glowing pale blue sphere of light. In my anger, I unleashed it, and it knocked Dilandau against a burning tree so hard, it managed to make him so weak that he couldn't stand up. I didn't question what happened at the moment, because I was still absolutely choleric and needed to get my feelings out. Nobody deserved to get away with killing innocent Pokemon and people for the pettiest of reasons, especially if it's considered fun to them!

"You're sick, you know that?! You're absolutely sick! You may have been mutilated by bad people, but that does NOT give you the right to go around killing innocents! Especially if you think it's FUN! Do you seriously think this is a game?! That it's fun to watch innocents suffer and die, to watch Pokemon and people cry and mourn those who YOU KILLED OFF?! You're terrible, you know that?! Maybe spreading violence and hatred is in your blood! Do you have any idea how much Nicodemus cares for you, how much he's CRIED FOR YOU, and how guilty he feels about not being able to stop those scientists from ruining you?! He cares for you like you're his child yet you thank him by treating him like garbage and killing everything and everyone you see for your own amusement! They all deserve to be happy! They all do, even if they have to go through your garbage to achieve it! You should be ashamed!" I screamed even louder this time. I didn't even realize both Hikaru and Nicodemus were behind me. I was so focused on calling Dilandau out on his senseless acts that I wound up leaving myself wide open for a Flamethrower.

"AGH!" I felt my body burn on the outside and myself get thrown against another tree.

"You know NOTHING of my suffering, you puny pink pansy retard trash! You're a spoiled little brat who doesn't even know the MEANING of the word suffering, so don't go around preaching trash you don't even know or care anything about! If you can't kill anyone, you can't survive in this world! Only kill and be killed! That's the law of survival, pinky, and clearly you're the lowest of the low! You're only my prey, and I'll prove it right here and now!" Dilandau screamed as he yanked on my ear and tried to finish me off. Again, Nicodemus pushed him off of me.

"Dilandau! This has gone on long enough!" Nicodemus yelled.

"Run, Syl! The Palpitoad are coming!" Hikaru advised as she ran ahead of me. I ran after her and saw six big frog-like Pokemon, probably Palpitoad as she mentioned, run past us, deeper into the forest. They were water types, as I saw many Pokemon like them shooting water at the flames, which are now thankfully being managed. As soon as we made it to clear ground, Hikaru and I ran behind a fire truck.

"Sylvia...that attack you used...what was that?" She asked.

"I don't know," I replied as soon as the memory of my using it dawned on me. Then something else lit up in my brain like a light bulb. "Maybe...maybe it was Moonblast."

"Moonblast?"

"Yeah. I heard someone on TV talk about it. Remember? We were trying to use it before Heidi told us that Silas died? Maybe that attack I used was Moonblast!"

"So it only works at night, huh? That sure explains why you couldn't use it before-HUH?!" Hikaru was about to say that Moonblast could be used at night until she suddenly rose into the air. It didn't take too long to figure out why. Someone grabbed her by the tail and yanked her up into the air. A police officer with rubber gloves on both his hands, looking at Hikaru like she was a vermin.

"So this is the Pokemon who caused the fire, eh? You're coming with us!" The police man exclaimed.

I couldn't believe it. These people thought Hikaru was the one who caused the forest fire? How can they assume that and just stick to that so quickly without looking into it further? I couldn't let them take Hikaru away, and Dilandau was the one who needed to be put away, not Hikaru. She didn't do anything wrong. I ran to the officer and begged him to let her go.

"Let her go! She didn't do it! It was Dilandau!" I begged him, even though it only came out as, "Syl! Sylve Sylve Sylveon!"

"Outta my way! I don't have time to deal with you!" The officer pushed me aside and proceeded to put Hikaru in a cage and throw her into the police car. But strangely enough, the man didn't close the car door right away, as he got distracted by someone telling him about some evidence they found. An opportunity to help Hikaru escape opened itself up to me, and I knew that if I let this chance slip by, Hikaru would likely be thrown in some kind of Pokemon jail forever. I couldn't let that happen, so as he was distracted, I leaped into the back of the police car and hid myself in there. As the officer finished talking with the other one, he closed the door without looking inside, went to the driver's seat, and proceeded to drive away.

One thing about being in this police car that made me feel relieved is that in between the back seat and the backs of the front seats were big, thick screens that prevented both the prisoner from seeing the cops up front and the cops from seeing the prisoner in the back seat, probably to prevent certain things from happening. This was perfect in helping me break Hikaru out without getting caught. Once we started moving, I hopped onto the seat, cupped the lock into my hand, and immediately began using Swift on it. It managed to leave some dents on the lock, but it didn't break it right off. I motioned for Hikaru to step back as I silently used Trump Card on the lock. After a few slashes from my glowing cards, the lock finally came off! Hikaru got out from the cage safe and sound. But then we encountered a new problem. We tried to open the doors from the inside, but they were locked, probably to prevent prisoners from escaping. We tried to open the windows but they were locked too. The only way for us to get out would be if the officers opened the car from the outside, and if they did, they'd catch us in the act right off, and the screen blocking off the back seat and the front seat wasn't helping matters. But I knew that it was the only way to escape. I had hoped we wouldn't have to resort to actually hurting the officers.

Thankfully, once we stopped and an officer yanked our door open, we didn't have to. Hikaru was small enough to slip right by them without hurting them, and because the officer was so distracted with catching her, I managed to slip away into a nearby bush without getting spotted. I stayed there for what felt like hours, hoping that Hikaru would be safe. After the sun began to rise, Hikaru came to the bush I was hiding in. She looked fine as far as I could see. The minute I laid my big, round, pale blue eyes on her tiny yellow body, a huge torrent of relief swept over me and I hugged her in extreme elation.

"Hikaru! You're safe! Thank goodness!" I squealed happily as I hugged her tight. I wanted to hug her so tight that she'd never be able to break free from my grasp, but if I did that, then I'd probably choke her to death, so I didn't.

"Sylvia...you're the best friend I've ever had. Thanks for breaking me free," Hikaru told me.

"You're welcome!" I chirped happily. But then another revelation dawned on me. We're outlaws since we escaped from the cops. "But...they'll try to find you in any way possible, right? How will you be able to outrun them?"

"I'll find a way. I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Syl," Hikaru said.

"No no. That officer shouldn't have accused you of starting the fire. You didn't do it!" I told her.

"I know, right? What's his problem?" Hikaru asked as she crossed her arms.

"Let's get out of here. If we stay here we might get spotted, and I already attract enough unwanted attention as it is," I suggested.

Hikaru nodded and we made a dash for it. We had no idea where we were, but since we were already in the town that we saw when we took a rest last night, it seemed pretty easy to find places to escape to. But we did have to avoid some police officers, as they ran all through town, trying to look for Hikaru. I had to wonder if Nicodemus was okay. I certainly hoped that they didn't accuse him of causing the fire! How could he, when he's not even a fire type? How could a normal type possibly cause a fire that ate up an entire forest? I didn't want to think about that.

Then, speak of the devil, we found Nicodemus and Dilandau again, sitting in front of some huge puddles, watching some floppy fish Pokemon flop around.

"Nicodemus! You're safe!" I exclaimed as I hugged Nicodemus, happy that he was safe and sound.

"Sylvia! Hikaru! I'm so glad you're both alright," Nicodemus told me gently as he hugged me. All of a sudden, Dilandau yanked me out of his grasp and smacked me so hard I fell into the puddle.

"You're not worthy of Nicodemus' affection! Only I receive it, not you, so get out of here!" Dilandau snapped angrily.

"Dilandau! That was rude! Apologize this instant!" Nicodemus scolded angrily, appalled yet again by Dilandau's very intractable, notorious, and recalcitrant behavior.

"Why should I? She's just a worthless piece of trash!" Dilandau sneered angrily, ignoring Nicodemus' heed.

How could Dilandau display absolutely NO remorse for all of his transgressions, especially after he practically decimated an entire forest and killed God knows how many Pokemon? Both Nicodemus and I were about to shout at him again but Hikaru did it for us.

"Sylvia is NOT worthless or a piece of trash! You are, you sick and evil monster! It's your fault that some cops accused me of causing the fire! You should be the one to get caught since you started it!" Hikaru snapped angrily.

As much as I was grateful to Hikaru for standing up to me, I really wished that all this fighting would stop. I really didn't want to be involved anymore. I was tired, hungry, perturbed, and really wanted to just go somewhere and relax and not think about any of this chaos and madness. I wished we could all just get along and find a way to Floccesy Ranch together now that we're in a town we don't even know. I didn't want to stay, so I just wandered around. I had intended to stay within Hikaru's vicinity in case she stopped and wanted to travel with me again.

But then I saw a Jolteon.

I had never seen a real life Jolteon before, only in pictures and books. The one I saw just about twenty feet from me was certainly very tenacious looking and beautiful. His body, other than his slender yellow legs, was completely spiky, with spikes protruding from all over. Even his white neck ruffle had spikes sticking out from it. His black eyes glinted in the morning sunlight, and his expression looked very bitter, like he had been through some bad times. He didn't look at me, and I was glad he didn't spot me.

However, something about the Jolteon caught my attention and made me separate from Hikaru. He felt familiar, like I had known him from somewhere. But I never met a Jolteon in real life before, so I didn't understand why he felt familiar.

Then the idea of one of my siblings being him hatched into my head.

Maybe, it might have been Bolt! He dreamed of being a Jolteon, so maybe...this could be him!

A new resolve formed in my heart. As soon as the Jolteon left, I secretly followed him from behind, taking great care to make sure he didn't notice me.

I had to confirm it. I had to talk to him and ask him if he was Bolt or any of my other siblings. Lucretia evolved into an Espeon just like she wished. Maybe Bolt evolved into his dream Pokemon as well. I couldn't let this chance slip by, so I decided to take the plunge.

Unfortunately, I would soon regret taking that plunge.


	8. Heartbreak Times Two

Chapter 8: Heartbreak Times Two

Since he was so fast and so nimble, it took me a while to really catch up to him again. That, and the city we were in was pretty big, so it'd be hard to find just about any Pokemon in here. But this was a Jolteon, a Pokemon not indigenous to Unova, so it shouldn't have been very hard to track him down. Thankfully, after about a little while longer, I managed to find him. But something flummoxed me as I caught up with him. I saw the Jolteon with a trainer, but it wasn't Leonard at all. If my memory served me right, Leonard had very messy black hair, purple eyes, and tan skin, and I remembered that he wore a black, white, and green hoodie, blue jeans, a red hat, and orange and black sneakers. This trainer looked absolutely nothing like him! Instead, he had dirty blondish brown hair that went down to his neck in the back, with straight but cropped bangs hanging down between his dark brown eyes. He had much lighter skin, a maroon vest over a long sleeved white shirt, black pants, big brown boots, and black jewel earrings. He didn't look very nice, because as soon as the Jolteon returned to his side, he gave it a very scathing look, like he had done something bad.

I sighed in disappointment. It wasn't Bolt after all. But he still felt familiar somehow, like I knew him from somewhere. I couldn't put my finger on it, so I decided to keep following him and find a way to talk to him. Without a word, the Jolteon and his trainer began walking away. Again, I silently followed them like I was a Liepard trying to catch its prey quietly. But this walk turned out to be quite a long one. I almost got tired from walking too much. I didn't understand how the trainer and his Jolteon could walk so much, but I didn't want to let that stop me from talking to that Jolteon. However, the more I followed them, the more I began to notice something very unsettling and even appalling. Whenever they stopped for a break or sat on a bench, the trainer would suddenly go off on the Jolteon, scolding him like he was a naughty child who continually did bad things, even though the Jolteon, as far as I knew, hadn't done anything. He kept saying a bunch of nonsense, and it was awful.

"Why do I have to deal with a piece of baggage like you?"

"You lost that battle because you were weak! Your reaction time was too slow, and you didn't bring out your best!"

"For a famous Eevee evolution, you sure are wimpy!"

"I don't even know why I have you as a Pokemon in the first place!"

"You're so useless! You can't even use your own attacks properly!"

"I oughta put you in the pound!"

How could he be so mean to that Jolteon? He didn't do anything wrong as far as I was concerned. He had no right to say those things to him. But what bothered me even more was that the Jolteon didn't argue back or stand up for himself. I didn't know if he was shy or knew it was a lost cause or if it was out of obligation to his trainer. I hoped it wasn't the latter, because I didn't think he deserved all of those unnecessary verbal lashings. If it really was Bolt, then I would have given his trainer my own little verbal lashing. I was glad it wasn't Bolt, but still, that Jolteon looked so abject when his trainer began insulting him. Did he really believe what his trainer said was true? I couldn't help but wonder. Soon, the trainer called Jolteon back to his PokeBall, put it in his pocket, and walked away. Again, once he got far enough, I followed him again. It wasn't as long as a trek as the last one was, but the destination...saying that I was floored or enthralled wouldn't even begin to describe how I felt.

I do know one word to describe how I was when I saw their destination: enraptured. I was enraptured. The man apparently lived in a HUGE mansion, much bigger than me or Claudia. It looked about twenty whole feet high and twenty feet wide on the sides. It looked like it had many many windows on both the top and bottom floors and looked like it was made entirely out of ivory. I had never seen a house this big before, if it could even be called a house. But strangely enough, my focus returned to the man, and he didn't go inside. He went behind it. Thinking he had something planned for the Jolteon, I followed him yet again while taking care not to get spotted. His backyard was just as large as the mansion. The garden he had was an exquisite work of art, with huge rows of flowers of all kinds in multifarious colors that made it look like you had just walked into a rainbow. Red, pink, yellow, white, orange, blue, purple, any flower you could name, you'd find it here, it was that big. There was a big rocky fountain in the middle with spewed some water. I saw some Pidove and Ducklett cleaning themselves up in it, looking like they were having a very good time splashing each other around. The man stopped to look at them. They didn't notice him, as they were too content with their bath time, but he let out a scoff and walked away. I did hear him say something, though, but I didn't like what I heard.

"Why can't those dumb birds find someplace else to do their business? This is my mansion, and only MY Pokemon get to do what they want!" The man muttered angrily. I couldn't resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him after he said that.

But then I noticed that there was a rather tiny little shed made entirely out of wood, and it looked like it hadn't even been painted. It looked completely fresh and new, like it was just built. The only noticeable features about it were two windows with no screens or glass on them and the black roof. The windows were big enough for me to easily slip through without difficulty. Why would anyone keep their windows wide open and not install anything in them to keep robbers from getting in? When the trainer went inside the shed, I quickly ran to one of the windows. The inside of the shed is very bare, save for some straw that was laid out all over the floor and a black cage big enough for a Jolteon to fit in. Then, the trainer let the Jolteon out of his PokeBall.

"Go in the cage, Jolteon!" The trainer exclaimed in a booming voice, sounding very austere and stringent, pointing to the cage like he was a big boss or something. I was surprised he would make Jolteon do such a thing when he didn't do anything wrong, but even more so when Jolteon actually went in without protest. Then, the trainer closed the cage door and put a lock on it.

"You are going to stay in here and think about what you've done. Being weak and stupid will get you nowhere in life, and your unsteadiness is a handicap you can't avoid. I will not tolerate defiance or incompetence in any of my Pokemon, not even you. Do you understand?" The trainer exclaimed with his arms crossed, looking down on the poor Jolteon like he really was a naughty little thing. Jolteon said nothing, which made a glint of rage appear in the trainer's eyes and his teeth grind.

"Pfft! It's obvious you don't understand me at all! I'm not letting you out until I declare that I will do so!" The trainer yelled as he proceeded to walk away. I ran behind the shed as soon as he turned around. I watched from behind the shed as he walked angrily back to the mansion. Rage was building up in my heart like a pile of bricks had been thrown on it. How dare he declare Jolteon to be incompetent when he hadn't even done anything? What trainer just outright assumes that the Pokemon they caught are incompetent and locks them away like they're prisoners? I wasn't going to tolerate this treatment, so as soon as he left, I hopped into the shed through one of the windows. Jolteon's head jolted upward when he saw me hop in. I didn't want him to think I was a bad Pokemon, and I wanted to make a good impression, so I smiled at him and bowed my head before him.

"Hello," I said with a soft voice, hoping I didn't scare him. "Sorry to barge in like this or startle you."

"Who are you and why are you here? Get out of here or Master Jason will be angry," The Jolteon told me.

"Is that his name? Jason? I saw him scolding you earlier. He's wrong about you. You're not incompetent or stupid. I can break you out if you want," I said as I got closer to his cage, and the closer I got to him, the more familiar he felt to me.

Jolteon scoffed and laughed a little, like I said something stupid. "You are a fool to try and attempt such a feat. No one can defy Master Jason. Not even..." Jolteon was about to lecture me until he saw the S shaped charm on my collar. He stared at it with a very curious look, just like Lucretia did.

The minute he did this, I knew right then and there that he really was one of my brothers.

"Sylvia..." He muttered.

I was so elated I couldn't contain my excitement and joy. "Ha! I knew it! You ARE one of my brothers! I know you're not Bolt, so...which one are you?" I exclaimed happily and jumped a few times at first, then calmed down out of fear that I might have either angered him or frightened him.

As soon as I asked that, he donned a bitter look and turned his head away to look at the bare walls. Did I say something bad? I did, however, receive yet another shock of my life.

"Vapor. I used to be Vapor...but no longer," The Jolteon replied in a soft but bitter tone of voice, like saying his name was the worst thing to ever come out of his mouth.

Vapor? No. It couldn't be. I shook my head a little. It couldn't be Vapor of all Pokemon. Vapor wanted to be a Vaporeon, not a Jolteon, and Vapor was kind, gentle, chivalrous, and selfless, even if he did get a little stubborn at times when the others started fighting. This Jolteon was Vapor? I almost didn't believe him. But he recognized my charm, just like Lucretia did despite my drastic change in appearance, and there are very few Pokemon who know my real name, Sylvia, so it had to be true, even though I didn't comprehend this at first.

"Vapor? Is that really you? But...you wanted to be a Vaporeon. You said so yourself. How come you're a Jolteon? Bolt's the one who wants to be a Jolteon," I said.

Unfortunately, as soon as I said that, I immediately wished I hadn't, because when I finished the question, Vapor, as it turned out, suddenly stood up and hissed at me like I was a Pokemon he didn't like. The rage and rancor filled glint in his eyes caused me to recoil physically in fear.

"Do you think I WANT to be a Jolteon?! Well, I don't! Master Jason forced me to evolve and wouldn't let me become a Vaporeon like I wished!" Vapor hissed angrily, like I asked that question out of malice, which I didn't.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't know! I didn't mean it like that! Honest!" I begged for him to calm down, which he didn't. But there were still questions that I wanted answered, so I continued on with my line of well-intentioned questioning, which, unfortunately, he didn't see as well-intentioned at all. "So...exactly what happened to you after I disappeared?"

"Why do you care?" He asked bitterly.

"I just want to know, that's all."

"Hmph! Fine, though it's not going to change anything! After Lucretia went away, things were fine until Master Jason caught me while I was out playing with Yuki and Konoha. He caught me right in front of them! At first Jason treated me nicely and I liked him until he used that blasted Thunderstone on me! I protested but he refused to listen to me and made me evolve into what I am now! He doesn't care one bit about my feelings! To him, I'm just his ticket to the Unova League, just like every single one of his other Pokemon! No matter how hard I try, no matter what I do, nothing I do pleases him! Nothing I do ever makes him happy! He doesn't give me love or praise or acknowledge that I have feelings! He just nitpicks and criticizes me every day for every little thing! He thinks I'm just a machine who will do whatever he asks! And I know for a fact that I can never escape my fate, so I might as well live my last days here!"

My heart sank as soon as he told me the story. Seeing Jason treat him bad just for being who he is and not what he wants him to be was confirmation enough. But when he talked, he had a venomous menace to his voice that he didn't have before, and his current attitude was completely different from back when he was an Eevee. Just like Alseides had done even before I was captured, Vapor has completely changed...and not for the better. This wasn't the Vapor I used to know. But then again, being treated badly, especially for a long time with no hope of ever encountering even the tiniest shred of happiness, can make Pokemon change drastically. Hikaru and Dilandau have been through horrible things, and they've changed a lot, though Hikaru still opened herself up to me, so I didn't have any doubt that Vapor would too...or so I thought. "You don't have to stay here. You can come back to Floccesy Ranch with me."

"That wretched place is not my home anymore! There's nothing there and no future for me there!" He snapped angrily. I flinched, but I couldn't give up. He was my brother. Someone needed to let him know that someone was there for him. Why not me, his dear little sister?

"But what about Mother and Father? And Yuki and Konoha?"

"They can't do anything to help me, so I'm stuck here!"

"No you're not!"

"Stop trying to change the impossible! You always were the stupidest little runt out of all of us, spouting all that idealistic garbage like kindness and friendship, and I never realized it until now. Even if you have feelings, no one will acknowledge their existence because we're just objects they can use to their own pleasure!"

"What do you mean change the impossible? I don't get it? I know you can't change back. We all can't once we evolve! I was forced to evolve against my will, and I've accepted that, but..." Now I was really starting to feel sadder and sadder the minute Vapor started yelling. "You deserve to be happy!"

As soon as he gave me the bitter look again, only with even more hatred and animosity in it, I started to think that that came out wrong. Really wrong. I didn't see any love in Vapor's eyes. Only hopelessness, hatred, and vehement hostility. The icy stare proved this for a fact, freezing me in place.

"So what? Do you want to fix me?" He was definitely getting angry at this point. "Wanna swoop in and save the day? Change me into a Vaporeon? Save me from Jason? Take me back to a place where there's no future for me regardless?!" His voice caught in his throat, but the anger was still spilling out like a torrent of water. The tears were spewing out of my eyes at this point, and I was helpless to stop them. "Well, you _**CAN'T**_! Nobody can, and nobody will! I can't even save myself! And besides, maybe I don't WANT to be saved! Have you ever thought about that?!"

"But...but Vapor-"

"Do NOT call me by that name! That is no longer my identity! I am just Jolteon now, just like Master Jason says! Just like everyone says! No human ever cares to know our true names! It means nothing to them! We're all just useless Pokemon they can mend and change to meet their unrealistic expectations! Chivalry is dead! I learned that the hard way, and you should too, you little spoiled brat! Just stop being a little miss goody two shoes who can make the world perfect with pretty words and stupid inspirational speeches and get a reality check! Nobody will ever like us, me or you! Especially not you, since you're turned into that pansy looking pink creature!"

"What...what happened to you?!" I wailed loudly. As of then, I was no longer concerned about his physical appearance. I was concerned about the very drastic change in his personality. Lucretia said that Alseides was the one who changed drastically, not Vapor. Could she have been mistaken? But then again, she didn't mention Vapor, so she couldn't have seen what happened to him. But by this point, I was absolutely heartbroken. Reality was striking me in the face and showing no mercy.

"I already told you. Jason changed me, and because I've evolved, I can never change back, and it's not like I want to anyway, now that I've accepted my fate. Don't try to save me, you stupid brat, because I don't want to be saved! Now get out! Get out of here and never come back!" Vapor snapped, without any hint of kindness, clemency, or understanding at this point. "Or I'll force you out with Pin Missile and Thunderbolt!"

It was here that I realized that there was no helping him. I hit a stone wall, a wall that I oh so desperately wanted to break down. How could all of this have happened to Vapor, one of my big brothers, one of the nicest Pokemon I knew? I tried not to break down in a paroxysm of tears, but it was impossible to do. He was my big brother. He didn't deserve all that was happening to him. I wanted to help him, even though there was no way for him to be a Vaporeon like he wished. I wanted to tell him about everything I went through, the friends I made, the places I've been, and help him get back on his feet and reconnect with him. But no! He was completely changed into a creature I didn't know. Jason did this to him. He turned my dear sweet brother into a bitter, self-loathing, abject jerk who's accepted his fate and feels there's absolutely no hope for him, even when it's right in front of his face! Why did this have to happen to Vapor of all Pokemon? Vapor didn't deserve to be mistreated by a bad trainer. He didn't deserve to be forced to evolve into a Pokemon he doesn't like. He deserved to be happy, to be reunited with his family, the Pokemon that could and would give him happiness no matter what. So what if nothing happens at Floccesy Ranch? We'd still love him for who he was anyway.

But he doesn't even want to go back to the place where he's loved and accepted. He doesn't want me in his life. He doesn't want me, his sister, to help him. He doesn't want to change his fate. That's what hurt me the most. That's what made my heart shatter into a million pieces. Soon, my sadness morphed into anger. He was right. The sweet, kind, gentle, chivalrous, and selfless Vapor we used to know is completely gone. Dead, even! All because of Jason, that selfish and short sighted trainer who thinks of Pokemon as his free tickets to instant fame and glory, without thinking about the fact that they have feelings and emotions just like him, only viewing them as machines to do his bidding. Jason stomped on his heart, his dignity, his identity as an individual Pokemon, and took it away from him. But worst of all, all throughout our conversation, he didn't even refer to me as his sister. He only acknowledged the fact that I came, not doing it just for me or because he loved me. Vapor's now a bitter, angry Jolteon whose heart is just as spiky as his fur. He called me a spoiled brat, a fool, a pansy, and a pink creature who nobody would like.

Who gave him the right to decide that? He never called me names before.

Yes. This Jolteon was NOT Vapor. Vapor was gone forever, never to come back.

Soon, without realizing it, I exploded, and all the anger inside me spread all over like the lava from a volcano.

"You're right! You're NOT my brother anymore! You can stay in that cage and die for all I care! I'm sorry I ever found you! Goodbye forever!" I screamed passionately and angrily before kicking his cage with my back leg and hopping out the window in which I came in.

My heart had been broken before, but right then and there, I wasn't sure if the pieces could ever be glued back together. I ran and ran and ran as fast as I could, hoping to make the anger slide off of me. I didn't even look where I was going. I was just concerned about running far, far, far away from Vapor, from Jason, that shed, that mansion, and everything else, as far away as possible, never to return. I wound up going through a big mountain, into a brand new town, falling into some puddles, getting electrocuted by the floppy fish Pokemon a few times without knowing, getting attacked by some Palpitoad because I unknowingly crossed into their territory, and almost getting run over by big bikes called motorcycles once I got on this really really big, wide, and cold bridge. But I didn't care about any of that. Once I got to this one little forest that's right across from this really big building, I felt too tired to go on running. But I did have enough energy to reflect on what I did before I left Vapor behind. My heart became inundated with huge waves of remorse as I buried my face into the grass and cried my eyes out passionately, not caring whether other Pokemon or people were watching or not. It's not like they would have taken the time to comfort me anyway. How could I have said something so horrible to Vapor, my brother? Even though he changed so drastically and became as bitter as he was, he was still my brother. I should never have said those mean things to him. I felt like a huge Graveler was duct taped to my back, weighing me down onto the grass with no intention of letting me go. Not only that, because I was so focused on checking whether Vapor was really one of my brothers, I wound up leaving Hikaru, Nicodemus, and Dilandau behind in the next town. I cried even more for them. How could I have been so selfish, so cruel, so bitter, and so downright stupid? Vapor was right. I am stupid. But even so, I should never have told him to stay in that cage and die. He didn't deserve that. None of what Jason's done to him was his fault. But I forgot about that as soon as it dawned on me that Vapor had no intention of wanting any shred of happiness I could offer him.

Worst of all, because I was so far away, I'd never be able to apologize to him. But then again, it was very likely that he wouldn't accept my apology anyway, so I decided there was no point in going back there, even though I oh so wanted to for his sake. That, and if I did stay, Jason might have found me and kicked me out or sold me somewhere. I didn't want that to happen to me, not after I've gotten this far all on my own.

Completely consumed by the monster that is horrendous guit and abject dejection, I weakly forced myself to keep going as I re-embarked on my journey. I don't remember how many days passed. All I remember the whole time was feeling like all the energy had drained out of me, even with all the food I ate or stole. Yes, I stole food during this time. One time, when I was really hungry, I wound up succumbing to temptation and tried to steal some food from a vendor. He threw me away like I was trash. There was no way to be frugal in this situation. I tried to get it again, but he whacked me with a stick. Despite my lack of energy, I ran away, not wanting to have something worse happen to me. I wound up resorting to stealing some berries laying around on the grass, which caused various Pokemon to chase me and attack me. I didn't bother to fight back, as I decided that I deserved it for being so cruel to Vapor. These attacks would be my comeuppance for losing myself to the clutches of petty anger, even though I had good reason to be angry. Most of the time, during the night, I found myself sleeping in forests or behind houses between the trash cans. I couldn't expect any luxury, but I sure did miss the feeling of sleeping in a warm bed and snuggling up to my mother's warm, comforting fur as she slept next to me. Oh, how I yearned to snuggle into Mother's soft fur and Father's silky smooth skin as he hugged me, and how I yearned to be comforted by every single one of my siblings back when we were soft, playful, energetic, rambunctious, naive little Eevee. But those days were never to come back. Ever.

All I remember was passing through yet another town and going across a large, vast, hilly place with lots of tall grass and Pokemon galloping about. It was long and wide, and it looked like it could take a whole day to cross on foot. But I didn't care. All I did was walk. But as I did, I stopped when I spotted a little Ponyta happily snuggling to what appeared to be her mother, a large, elegant, fiery looking horse much larger than she, but with smaller, brighter eyes, bigger flames, more slender legs, a stronger build, and a long horn on her head. The flames on both their manes flickered and blazed happily as they snuggled each other. I couldn't help but envy the Ponyta for being able to have the luxury of being with her mother, being loved, cared for, and accepted. Soon, the mother glanced at me, and I walked away once we made eye contact. I didn't want to bother them or interrupt their alone time together. As I left, I saw quite a lot of bug type Pokemon that were yellow with three faces and little flickering transparent wings fluttering and looking like they were invisible as they flew away. I found out later that they were Combee. I even saw some very pretty Pokemon with little yellow bodies, cherry red eyes, and lots of big, light pink cherry blossom petals. Two of them even said hi to me. I waved back to be polite. I found out later that they were called Cherrim. They were quite cute and sweet. I also saw a big blue bug Pokemon with a huge horn on its nose climb a big tree and eat the sap from it. I had to wonder if he was really as strong as he looked.

Then, night fell, and I had to fall asleep. I found an empty patch of grass and slept on it. After that, the sun came back up and I resumed my travels, only to realize that I was really close to a new town. I wasn't sure what town it was, but I was sure it wasn't Floccesy Town. I hadn't crossed the sea since Magic took me to Striaton City, so I found a Cherrim and asked her about the town.

"Excuse me! I hate to bother you, but do you know the name of that town that's over there?" I asked.

"Yes! That's Lacunosa Town. But you better be careful when you're in there, though. It's completely encased in big, thick walls. You have to walk up and down a bunch of stairs and everything. Plus, there's a legend that a big and scary Pokemon sleeps in a chasm that's about thirty feet away from it, holding everybody in Lacunosa Town in fear," Cherrim replied.

I shivered. "A...a big and scary Pokemon?"

"Yeah. Supposedly an ice type dragon. The townsfolk say that he comes out at night and flies over the town to do whatever it wants to do, which is why nobody ever goes out at night. But I don't think it's true. I've been up at night a few times and I've never seen an ice type dragon Pokemon flying around, so don't take what I say too seriously," Cherrim explained.

I nodded and marched onward. The town wasn't very large, but there were a lot of stone floors and houses on top of walls and stuff, with a big bridge going over an entire Pokemon Center. Every surface of it I touched felt cold, like it had been frozen a few times. The houses on the outside looked very bare, with light blue walls and black roofs. I saw a Minccino running around, but I didn't pay attention. After walking up so many steps, I felt tired. However, as soon as I plopped onto a bench and tried to rest a little, I heard some yelling nearby.

"Get off my back, will you?! Stop trying to force me to take sides and do what you want me to do! You wonder why I'm staying here with Grandma and Grandpa! Just leave me alone! I hate you both!" A girl suddenly screamed as she held a strange device against her cheek. Once she got up here, she pressed a button, angrily stashed the machine in her pocket, fell to her knees, and broke down crying, just like I did when Vapor rejected me. The girl had very messy black hair tied in a long braid with a blue ribbon at the end, and looked to be about ten or eleven years old. She was wearing soft black capris, a dark blue shirt, a red jacket, and light brown boots. I was hesitant about comforting her and approaching her at first, fearing that she might either be scared of me or reject me until she said something as she buried her face into her hands.

"Why does my life have to be like this?! Why can't everything just be back to normal?! What did I do to deserve this?! Why won't...anyone...listen to me...? I wish I had a friend, but nooo! Nobody likes the girl whose grandpa was a convicted felon! He's not who he used to be! Why doesn't anyone understand me?!" The girl yelled dejectedly and cried some more, her voice croaking a bit as she continued on with her spiel.

Something in me stopped me from leaving her behind. I knew I should have gone back on my journey, but this girl...unlike Vapor, who rejected my offer to save him because he was convinced there was no hope for him, this young girl actually wanted to be saved from whatever troubles she had. All she wanted was a friend, and I was here. I could give her what she wanted, even though it'd probably mean I'd have to be captured with a PokeBall like Bolt was. If I left her there without a thought, then she'd be suffering all alone. I was already guilt-ridden because of saying those mean things to Vapor. I didn't want to bear another heavy burden of guilt again, so very slowly, I walked up to her, sniffed her face a bit, and licked it. As soon as she felt my tongue lick her tear stained face, she removed her pale hands from her face, turned to look at me with her light green eyes, and gasped a little in fright as she saw me. I recoiled a little and took a few steps back. I thought I scared her, but even though she gasped, she didn't run away like I expected. We stared at each other for a little while, even though it was impolite to stare, until she started to get used to my presence, her light green eyes developing a very curious gleam to them as she continued to fixate her gaze on me.

"Wow...are you a Pokemon?" She asked, her voice and expression awestruck. I nodded. "Whoa! You understood me! But...what kind of Pokemon are you? I don't think I've ever seen anything like you before...wait! I HAVE seen you before! On TV!" The girl exclaimed again, the realization dawning on her as she crossed her arms and ruminated.

'_Perhaps Sylveon are getting more and more well known,'_ I thought. If a new Pokemon was discovered, then anyone would want to share their findings with the world and tell people about them in case they want to see one, catch one, or be its friend, by any means necessary.

"Oh! I know! You're that new Eevee evolution that was discovered about a year ago! Sylveon, was it? And you're a fairy type, that new type that was just discovered!" The girl exclaimed. I nodded. The girl calmed down a bit once the revelation sunk in.

"Can I...touch you?" She asked shyly, as though she was the one who thought she'd scare me. But I wasn't scared at all. I ambled closer to her and lowered my head. Slowly, she reached her hand out and stroke my fur. Her touch felt nice, especially after all the bad stuff I went through. It felt refreshing to finally be touched in a kind, gentle way after so long. The more she pet me, the more she smiled.

"You're so soft...and you're so cute and beautiful!" She whispered in a low but kind voice. I felt happy she told me I was cute and beautiful, just like Lucretia did. Vapor called me ugly, though that was only because he was angry about his situation, even though his words really drove some mean, sharp, and rusty daggers through my heart, leaving quite a bit of scars. The minute she said those kinds words to me, I could feel her warmth going into my little body.

"Oh! Gosh, I'm so silly! I'm Kayoko, by the way," The girl exclaimed and bonked herself on the head with her fist as she had forgotten to tell me that her name was Kayoko. But then she looked down and saw my collar. Her face softened a little and returned to its original dejected look.

"You have a trainer, don't you?" Kayoko asked. My face grew sad as well, as I remembered that Serena made me this collar. I wondered if she was doing okay or if Bambi was being nice to her. I thought about how nice it'd be to be back with them. But Kayoko became sad again, and that made me sad. "Hmm. I figured as much."

I wanted to tell her that I was lost and that I'm trying to get back home, but I had no idea how, so I just simply pointed to the area past the walls. She turned around and looked out onto the horizon with me, then looked back at me.

"Is your trainer out there somewhere? Are you lost?" Kayoko asked. I couldn't believe it. She understood me right off! I nodded vigorously, even though I wanted to tell her that I didn't REALLY have a trainer, but that Serena made it for me and I felt obligated to go back to Floccesy Ranch no matter what. Plus, this collar was the only way anyone I knew could identify me as Sylvia, as very few Pokemon or people know my real name.

"I wish I could help you, but I can't. I'm not strong enough to go on a Pokemon journey yet, and my parents won't let me anywhere near Pokemon. They think they're infested with fleas and all kinds of diseases. They're crazy! But...I would love to be your friend..." Kayoko told me casually at first, then I could see her eyes moistening a little when she said that last part. I didn't want her to cry again. I'd seen too many tears to have to deal with more of them, so I hopped on her and licked some tears off of her face. She looked extremely surprised when I did this. Then she looked even more sad, which confused me even further.

"You...really want to stay with me...and be my friend? Even though you already have a trainer?" Kayoko asked, her voice breaking a little as she sounded like she was about to burst into tears again. I nodded kindly and smiled at her. Gently, she squeezed me tight and cried into my fur. I didn't feel guilty or sad this time, because I knew that she was crying on me because she was happy, happy that someone is there for her, even if it was a Pokemon that was only just discovered. It felt nice being hugged by her and feeling appreciated just for being there. We stayed there for a few minutes until we both decided to sit on the bench.

"I won't use a PokeBall on you. That wouldn't be right. Um...will you...listen to me? There's been so much happening, and...I really want to talk to someone about it. I'm sick and tired of bottling it all up," Kayoko told me wistfully. I nodded and decided to listen to her tale of sorrow.

Like she said before, both of her parents are not very fond of Pokemon. In fact, they outright hated them all for stupid reasons, like being infested with fleas or diseases, though other reasons included thinking that Pokemon have a bad influence on both kids and adults, pressuring them to go on dangerous journeys without regard for one's welfare, safety, or future. Kayoko really likes Pokemon and she really wants to be a trainer, but her parents won't let her and want her to be a socialite or a politician when she's older. A socialite is a rich person who really doesn't do anything except go to fancy parties and laugh a lot and be entertained, and I thought that sounded pretty stupid. Kayoko said she doesn't want to spend her life dressing up or going to parties, and she said she doesn't understand a thing about politics and thinks they're too hard. But her parents are always deciding stuff for her without her consent, and that's why she's angry at them. But things got worse when her parents decided to divorce, and now both of them want full custody of Kayoko, doing anything to keep her out of the other's hands, even going as far as to try and force her to choose sides, even though Kayoko really doesn't want this. All Kayoko wants is to be a Pokemon trainer, go out into the world, and do whatever she wanted without having to worry about anything and so she can get away from her problems. It doesn't help that the other kids don't like her because of her grandfather's past history as a criminal even though he's changed since then. They don't believe it and keep hanging it over her head like it's as new as the discovery of Sylveon, which I thought was even stupider. Just because Kayoko's related to someone who used to be a criminal doesn't make Kayoko herself a bad person. People shouldn't judge people like that. When she finished, she looked like she was going to cry again, so I licked her face again. Touched by my kind gesture from the way her eyes moistened and her face looked all mushy and soft, she hugged me again, gently this time.

"Thanks for listening to me, Sylveon. You're a sweet Pokemon. Wanna be friends?" Kayoko said as she hugged me. I nodded contentedly. Once she felt better, she took me to her house, which belonged to her grandparents, and she managed to persuade them to let me live with them until she's strong enough to go on a Pokemon journey. They were a little surprised at first, but after they noticed how unusually happy and cheerful Kayoko was when she was with me, and after a few days of seeing me interact with her, they decided to let me stay since they felt happy that Kayoko's back to her old self, as that was the happiest they'd ever seen her. I had no idea Kayoko's cheerful personality and kind demeanor was so squashed down just because her parents were causing strife. I assumed too much strife did that to people, and maybe even Pokemon too. Hikaru went through a lot of it, but still remained true to herself, even though her kind side was squashed down by the excessive abuse she endured. Unlike her parents, her grandparents like Pokemon, even though they had their doubts about having me live with them at first.

Ever since then, as they said, Kayoko practically blossomed. She and I did everything together. We played together, watched TV together, went on walks through the woods in the daytime, chased each other around, slept together, ate food together, went on trips outside of town together whenever her grandparents wanted to go out somewhere, pretty much everything. Kayoko was such a nice little girl, and she did everything she could to make me happy, and I did the same in gratitude. Sometimes she would brush my fur and flowy streamers with a hairbrush she didn't use anymore, and although it hurt a little at first, I knew she didn't mean it. Other times, when she wasn't spending time with me, she was studying for school, playing her favorite harmonica, or reading books about Pokemon and how to take good care of them. She said if she really were to go on a Pokemon journey, she'd have to learn all she could about the many kinds of Pokemon and how to take good care of them. If she didn't take good care of them or attend to their needs, then she wouldn't be a good trainer. She's tried to read about Pokemon before, but her parents never let her even read books about them, and if they caught her doing it, they'd take it away, yell at her, and lecture her about her getting a secure future and not shaming the family name, which I thought was just stupid. But then again, I had to wonder if going on a Pokemon journey was considered a secure future. Kayoko wasn't sure either, but she wanted to go on one anyway, so she could make all the friends she wanted, see the world, and not have to worry about her problems in her life.

But what surprised me during my stay with her was that...I really had no obligation to be with her. She was just another person I met. She didn't catch me with a PokeBall and because of that, I was free to leave and return to Hikaru, Nicodemus, and Dilandau. I could have left her and returned to my journey back to Floccesy Ranch. However, I didn't. I wound up staying with her. For a whole two years, even. It just seemed bad to just leave Kayoko alone, especially since she went through so much. She was such a nice girl who really didn't deserve all the bad things that were happening to her. But I admired her persistence in regards to her dream of becoming a Pokemon trainer, even though I had to wonder if she knew that catching Pokemon might have some consequences for them and their families as well. But I knew she wasn't planning to catch Pokemon to hurt them or treat them like objects. She treated me like a queen, and made sure I was happy while making sure to let me know when I did something wrong. To her, I was just a Pokemon, a friend who listened to her and didn't betray her. That's what made her happy, and it made me happy, too. Besides, I kind of needed something to make me happy after what happened with Vapor. Being with Kayoko helped me get over the sadness I felt when Vapor cut me off.

Finally, one day, on her thirteenth birthday, a package came for her. It was a PokeDex, a device designed to record and give her important information about any Pokemon she met or caught. Her grandmother ordered it for her, and it was shipped from a faraway place called Nuvema Town. Kayoko literally exploded with joy and hugged her as soon as she opened it. The only reason she never got one earlier, even when I met her, was because her parents don't want her to be anywhere near Pokemon, and because of that, they wouldn't let her even learn about them, not even from books. That's why she spent the last two years reading books about Pokemon. That, and her grandparents didn't have the money to custom order one until then. Her grandparents encouraged her dream and didn't want her to be sad, especially when I was with her. The day after, a thirteen year old, short haired (she cut it a week before her birthday and it's up to her shoulders, though she still keeps it in a braid) Kayoko marked her calendar in her room.

"Today's the day, Sylveon! We're gonna catch my first Pokemon!" Kayoko exclaimed happily. Even though I felt bad about letting her catch a Pokemon, I didn't say anything and just smiled at her. In my heart, though, I was sure that whatever Pokemon she'd catch, she'd treat him or her nicely. She treated me nicely all these years, and she's studied a lot about how to be a good Pokemon trainer and how to take care of Pokemon in all that time, so I didn't have any doubt that she'd take good care of whatever Pokemon she'd catch, even though she may not know that she's separating it from whatever family it has.

Once she marked her calendar, got her PokeDex, and put some PokeBalls she purchased from the store in her coat pocket, she and I went into a rather rough area with lots of cliffs and bridges, but the lush, emerald grass had an abundance of Pokemon running all over the place, from flying type Pokemon to Pokemon that lived on land. I did, however, spot one Pokemon that hopped right out of a bush and began happily chewing the grass below it.

It was a Pokemon I knew all too well, and it reminded me too much of Floccesy Ranch.

"Look! A Deerling! How cute!" Kayoko exclaimed happily as she pointed to the Deerling that's eating some grass.

I began to tremble a little uneasily. Just the sight of that Deerling reminded me of Bambi, my dearest friend. I wondered how he was doing, if he was okay, if he was upset about my absence, if he was being nice to Serena, all of those things. I had hoped he didn't get captured by any trainers, as he was a very shy and meek Pokemon, even though he's a boy. I kind of considered it's feelings and wanted the Deerling to escape and go back to his or her family, but Kayoko looked so happy about finding a wild Pokemon. She wanted to catch that Deerling no matter what.

"Now, in order to catch it, I have to weaken it first so it won't break out of the PokeBall," Kayoko mused to herself, then turned to look at me. "Alright, Sylveon! Let's do this!"

"Syl!" I nodded with a chirp.

"Start off with Quick Attack!" She commanded while pointing to the Deerling, who was not cognizant of the fact that we were engaged in battle. I hesitated a little, but I didn't want Kayoko to be unhappy, so I went and rammed Deerling against a tree.

"Deeer!" Deerling screeched as she flew against the tree and slumped to the grass. But as soon as she got on the grass, she got back up and rammed me with a Tackle attack.

"Don't give up, Sylveon! I know you can do it!" Kayoko cheered. "Use Bite!"

I tried to bite Deerling's leg, but she dodged it, leaped into the air, and hit my body with her back legs. That was Jump Kick she used.

"Why are you attacking me?! What did I ever do to you?!" The Deerling yelped angrily as she finished her Jump Kick. Despite the damage, I got back up.

"Sorry! It's just...Kayoko wants to catch you. She really likes you and wants to be your friend!" I told her.

"Do you really think assault is a good way to make friends? Gimme a break! And why should I be her friend? I don't know her! How will I know she'll be nice to me?!" Deerling replied back in a sharp tone of voice.

Yep. This Deerling was NOTHING like Bambi at all. Bambi's shy, meek, and innocent. This female Deerling was strong, strong-willed, confident, outgoing, and brave.

"She'll be nice to you! I know it! I've been with her for two years! She's dreamed of becoming friends with Pokemon for a long time. She won't hurt you or do anything bad," I told her while landing my own tackle on her.

"She won't?"

"Nope!"

"And you're sure?"

"Yep!"

"Good! It's weak!" Kayoko exclaimed as she pulled out a PokeBall. "Here goes nothing! Go, PokeBall!" With a yelp, she threw the PokeBall at Deerling, who dissipated into a red light and went into the PokeBall. But that wasn't the end of it. Kayoko and I watched as the PokeBall wriggled around, with a red light on the button lighting up. That probably meant Deerling was trying to break free. The atmosphere around us was tense. It felt like the air around us was getting hot and humid. After a few more seconds and wiggles, the PokeBall finally stopped moving, and the red light disappeared.

As soon as the PokeBall ceased its wriggling and writhing, Kayoko's face lit up like the sun when dark clouds parted away, and she squealed happily and jumped around like a kid at a birthday party. "YAAAY! I did it! I did it! I caught my very first Pokemon! I caught a Deerling! I caught a Deerling! Yippee!" As soon as she said all that, she grabbed me and squeezed me tightly. "And it's all thanks to you, Sylveon! I'm so happy I met you!"

Feeling touched by her kindness and gratitude, I gave her a few licks and she giggled a bit upon making contact with my tongue. Once we finished, she put me down, ambled to the PokeBall, and picked it up. She fixed her eyes on it and stared at it for quite a while, donning a very accomplished look on her face.

"My first Pokemon. My first true friend..." Kayoko mused to herself wistfully. I'm sure that by _"first true friend"_ she meant that the Deerling is her first true Pokemon that she caught herself. The Deerling is her Pokemon and hers alone, the first friend she made herself. I couldn't help but smile as she stared at the PokeBall. "Come on out, Deerling!"

She threw the PokeBall in the air, and Deerling came back out. "Deerling!" She squeaked as she just stood on the grass with a puzzled but content look on her face. Kayoko kneeled in front of her with a smile.

"Hi, Deerling. Sorry we surprised you back there. I hope you're not mad at me. I'm Kayoko, your new trainer. You're the first Pokemon I ever caught. Would it be okay if you and I became friends? I love Pokemon, and I've always dreamed of being a trainer. I don't know if I'll take care of you properly since I'm just a kid, but I'll do the best I can regardless. I really want us to be good friends...if that's okay with you, of course," Kayoko told Deerling kindly and softly. I found it strange that she would talk to her like that. I never heard trainers catch their Pokemon and tell them these things before. But Kayoko...she was actually treating her Pokemon like an individual and sounding like she's giving her a decision and considering her feelings. I wasn't sure if I'd ever live to see a trainer who's considerate of their Pokemon's feelings (But then again, I was sure that Lucretia's trainer, Redena, was one of those people considering how nicely she treated her). I was about to talk to Deerling until she smiled and extended her hoof out, like she's accepting her friendship. Kayoko smiled brighter than ever and shook Deerling's hoof with her hand.

"I'm so happy we can be friends! Plus, you're so cute!" Kayoko said. Deerling smiled a bit.

"I know I am!" Deerling said, though to Kayoko it came out as, "Deerling deerling!"

After that, she took me and Deerling home with her to show to her grandparents. "Grandma! Grandpa! Look! I caught my first Pokemon all by myself!" She shouted as she ran through the door and right into the house.

"Really, dear? That's wonderful!" Kayoko's grandmother said.

"Let's see. What Pokemon did you catch?" Kayoko's grandmother asked.

"Look! This is my first Pokemon, a Deerling!" Kayoko exclaimed happily as she showed Deerling to her grandparents, who looked quite awestruck when they saw her. But from the smug look on her face, I could tell she seemed to like the attention.

"My, a Deerling! How cute!" Kayoko's grandmother said.

"They're common around these parts, so I'm not surprised you got one. But it sure is a cutie," Kayoko's grandfather said.

After that, Deerling and I went back to Kayoko's room to rest a little. Kayoko wasn't going to leave on a journey just yet. She just wanted to try catching her own Pokemon first before doing anything further. But this did give me and Deerling time to talk.

"So what's your name?" I asked.

"Claudine. And you?" The Deerling, Claudine, replied, her terse tone completely gone by this point.

"I'm Sylvia, a Sylveon."

"She called you that earlier. Is that what Pokemon you are?"

"Yep."

"No wonder I never saw anything like you before. You must be a new one."

"Yep. That's true."

"But you say you've been with Kayoko for two years, right? Aren't YOU her first Pokemon?"

"Actually, I'm not her Pokemon. She never caught me with a PokeBall. I just stayed with her. She needed a friend, so I thought maybe I could help her."

"Then who's your trainer?"

"I don't really have one. But I do know I lived in a place called Floccesy Ranch, and before I met her, I was trying to get back there. You actually remind me of one of my best friends. He's a Deerling, too. His name is Bambi."

"Bambi? Never heard that name before. What's he like?"

"Unlike you, he's really shy and easily frightened. But he's the sweetest Deerling I know. He's been my best friend since I was born, and was my first friend ever. He's kind and gentle and loves flowers! He and I always played together, and we were always there for each other."

Claudine smiled a little. She reminded me of Hikaru, only much less shielded and sharp tongued. "He seems like a sweet Deerling. I'd like to meet him someday. So where's Floccesy Ranch at?"

"I dunno. I heard it's across the sea and very far away, but I have no way of getting there."

"Maybe, when Kayoko goes on her journey tomorrow, you can both find it together."

"Maybe. Do you want to do anything in life?"

"I don't know, to be honest with you. I do know I want to be a brave and strong Pokemon like my brothers, but they always treated me like a baby, and I hate that. Finally I managed to go out on my own. But who knows? Maybe staying with Kayoko might help me get stronger and draw out my full power. I'd love to see the world and what it has to offer."

"I'm sure you'll love being with Kayoko. I know I do!"

Claudine giggled a bit. "You sound just like her, somewhat!"

I tilted my head to one side in confusion. "I do?"

"Yep!"

Soon, Kayoko, Claudine, and I left on a new journey. But we mostly stayed in that big grassy meadow where I met that Cherrim who told me about Lacunosa Town and its legend. We stayed longer than usual because Kayoko found a bunch of Pokemon she wanted to catch, and wound up relying on Claudine for quite a few of them. First, she caught a Caterpie, then a Pidove, a Cherubi, and a Ponyta. She was on a roll, and seemed to be having quite a lot of fun making new friends. Night fell, and everyone fell asleep except for me and the Caterpie, who I decided to talk to.

"Hello. I'm Sylvia. What's your name?" I asked her.

"Hi! I'm Papillon!" The Caterpie, Papillon, squeaked in a cute, sweet voice. "What kinda Pokemon are you, miss?"

"A Sylveon."

"You pwetty!" From the way she talked, it sounded like she was still really young. Much younger than me, even, and I'm the youngest in my whole family.

"Thanks," But when I said that, some thoughts began swimming around in my head. Since Papillon looks and acts really young, I had to wonder if she missed her family. I'm sure Kayoko didn't mean to separate Papillon from her family, especially not out of malice. But...how could this teensy weensy little Caterpie even hope to survive with a trainer.

"What wong? Why you look so sad, Sylvie?" Papillon asked innocently. Her huge, expressive eyes just screamed genuine sincerity, and they just looked so wide and innocent that I couldn't help but feel endeared by her innocent concern.

"Do you miss your mother and father?" I asked.

Papillon looked up in the sky with a wistful but content look. "Yeah. I do."

"But you didn't resist when Kayoko caught you. Why is that?"

"I do miss Mommy and Daddy. But I wanna be a big, strong, and beautiful Butterfwee! That's why I let Kayoko catch me. She likes me, and I like her!"

"I'm glad. I like her too."

"Other Caterpie always picked on me. They say I'm a big crybaby and I'm wimpy and weak and stupid and will never be a stwong Pokemon. That's what they always said."

"Really? They shouldn't say stuff like that. That's rude."

"Mommy and Daddy always said that I could be a Butterfwee, and I wanna! I wanna fly in the sky and eat pwetty flowers and be stwong! In fact, I wanna be just like you, Sylvie!"

This made me step back a little. "What?! Just like me? But...I didn't do anything. Why do you wanna be like me?"

"Cause you're nice to me and you dun hafta be 'cause you're a big Pokemon, and you don't pick on me like all the other Caterpie did! You, Kayoko, and everybody else! You all like me, but I especially wanna be like you 'cause you helped me when that Tranquill was hurting me. Plus, you're like Mommy," Papillon told me.

A strange warmth enveloped my heart when she said those things, that she wanted to be like me and that she reminded me of her dear mother. How could I possibly remind her of her mother when I was still just a weak, vulnerable little child myself, even though I was forced to evolve? But then again, it felt really nice to be liked and worshiped by someone smaller or younger than myself. I couldn't help but shed a few tears as I hugged Papillon.

"Why you cwyin', Sylvie? Did I say somefin bad?" Papillon asked.

"No. I'm just so happy...nobody's ever told me that they wanna be just like me before. I know you'll be a Butterfree someday. I know you will. Don't let anyone else tell you that you can't. But you be nice to Kayoko, because she's your trainer, and she loves you very much, too," I told her as I hugged her. Papillon didn't seem to mind and seemed to enjoy my hug.

"Okay. I like Kayoko too, so I'll be super duper nice to her! She is my friend! You are too, and everybody else! I'll be a Butterfwee someday! I'll get stwonger and stwonger, so Mommy and Daddy can be pwoud of me! You, Kayoko, and everyone else, too!"

Lo and behold, her dream came true. About a week after starting her journey, Papillon won a battle against a Staryu, and she evolved into a Pokemon called a Metapod. About a week and a half after that, after winning a battle against a Wingull after many previous losses, she finally evolved into a Butterfree. She looked so elegant, so beautiful, so enchanting, so noble, and so majestic, that everyone watched in awe as she flew around jubilantly and happily. Kayoko's face was especially aglow with happiness.

"Wow! You did it, Caterpie! You evolved! Look at you! You're so beautiful! Awesome! I'm so proud of you!" Kayoko cheered happily and started dancing with Papillon like she was the one who had evolved.

"I did it, Kayoko! I did it, Sylvie! I evolved! I evolved! Look! Look! I'm a Butterfree now! I'm a beautiful Butterfree! Yay yay yay!" Papillon exclaimed happily as she flew through the sky with her brand new white wings, even though to Kayoko it just came out as, "Eeee freeeee! Eeeee freeeeee! Eeee freeee!"

I couldn't help but shed a few tears. Papillon was just a cute, tiny, helpless little Caterpie with big dreams before, but she worked hard and grew up into a beautiful, elegant, and majestic Butterfree. I wondered if this was what being a mother is like, to watch in awe as your cute little baby grew up into a strong, independent, and hard-working adult in the blink of an eye. I wondered if this was what Mother felt when she started watching us grow, before we started getting separated one by one. As I ruminated further, I watched happily as Kayoko hugged Papillon and Claudine and the other Pokemon let out jubilant cheers of applause in honor of Papillon's new evolution.

"You finally achieved your dream, Papillon. Good job! We're all very proud of you," I told her once Kayoko let go.

"It's mostly because of you, Kayoko, and everyone else that I evolved! You never stopped loving me, and you helped me grow stronger! I should be thanking you all," Papillon said.

"There's no need. I'm just happy that you're happy," I told her. After we stopped celebrating, we resumed our journey. As I spent more time with Kayoko and her Pokemon, I couldn't help but think that maybe being with a trainer wasn't so bad after all. After all, Kayoko's so nice, and the Pokemon she caught love her very much because of her infectious kindness, and they get stronger and stronger because of her. I couldn't help but think maybe this was what I could do, be someone's friend and help them become strong as well. Maybe I could be with Kayoko forever. I sure enjoyed the time we spent together, all the times we laughed, we cried, we fought, and the things we experienced in the two months that followed. It felt great to spend time with friends you love and help each other in times of need. If I had been able to find Hikaru, I'd have told her about Kayoko and suggested she come with us. I bet Hikaru would have really liked her, considering all the bad stuff she went through.

Unfortunately, my time with Kayoko, Claudine, Papillon, and everyone else would come to a very swift and very unexpected cessation in a very horrible way.

Funnily enough, Kayoko's journey wound up taking me backwards. The town where we rested where the forest was that Dilandau set on fire? I found out on TV that the town near the forest was called Mistralton City. We went to the town after that, which was called Icirrus City. Kayoko fought the gym leader there with the help of Ponyta, a Buizel she just caught, and me. Yes, I actually fought a gym battle! And we won! The gym leader, whose name was Brycen, gave Kayoko the badge. The jubilant look on her face really made me feel like I was making a difference in her life.

"Come on, everyone! Let's go celebrate!" Kayoko exclaimed while pumping her fist in the air.

"Neeeeigh!" Ponyta neighed.

"Bui bui!" Buizel proclaimed.

"Freeee!" Papillon screeched happily, even though she didn't participate in any of the battles. She just watched.

Once all her Pokemon were out (she had sent Cherubi to her grandparents' house once she caught Buizel and another Pokemon called a Vullaby), she took us all to the Pokemon Center so we could be healed. After that, we decided to go to some of the wetlands and have a little picnic to celebrate the win. It was going to be great until a voice stopped Kayoko in her tracks.

"Kayoko!"

We all turned around to find a man in a grey suit, red and purple satin tie, and black shoes stand across from Kayoko, looking very stern and business-like. The man had black hair like she did, along with a thick mustache and beard. The minute Kayoko laid her eyes on him, she gasped and stood up like she had seen the most horrible thing in the world.

"D-D-D-D-Dad?! What the freak are you doing here?!" Kayoko yelped.

I couldn't believe what I just heard. This person was her father? As soon as he saw us, he donned a very disgusted expression, like he smelled the noisome odor that a Stunky would let out.

"Pokemon?! Kayoko...I knew you'd do anything to get what you want, but I never dreamed of such audacity! I thought I told you a hundred times that you are not to have contact with ANY Pokemon whatsoever! It is a waste of time!" Kayoko's father scolded once he got closer.

I could see a fierce glint appear in Kayoko's eyes once she made eye contact with him. "What's your problem?! What's wrong with being a trainer?! I don't see anything wrong with it! I am going on a journey to be a trainer and you can't stop me!"

Kayoko's father grabbed her arm. "Stop this nonsense right now, Kayoko!" He gripped her so hard, the PokeBalls fell out of her pocket. Once she saw this, she pried her father's arm off of her and pushed it away.

"Why won't you let me be a trainer?! I love Pokemon, and they make me happy! Why can't you understand that?!" Kayoko screamed angrily. Some of her Pokemon became anxious once they noticed her drastic change in demeanor, me included. Soon, some people dressed in black and white suits, black sunglasses, and black bow ties approached us.

"Being a Pokemon trainer is a waste of time, and it will get you nowhere in life! Release them at once, Kayoko! You are never to have a Pokemon ever again!" Kayoko's father yelled.

"NO! You are NOT making me release them! Not after I worked so hard to be friends with all of them! What's so bad about being a trainer?! I'd much rather be with Pokemon than with you or Mom any day!" Kayoko screamed angrily, clearly outraged by her father's intransigent persistence and jingoistic animosity toward all Pokemon.

"I will not let this foolishness go on any further! Men! Take every single Pokemon away, and do away with them by any means necessary!" Kayoko's father commanded his men.

"NO! You can't do that!" Kayoko screamed as she tried to beseech her father to take back his command, but he threw her off like she was trash.

"I can and I will, especially if it's to give you a secure future!" Kayoko's father yelled.

Thankfully, Kayoko's Pokemon were not going to take things lying down. All of a sudden, Papillon unleashed Stun Spore, paralyzing a good majority of the men, Kayoko's father included. Kayoko made sure not to inhale the powder, but she managed to break free of his grasp. Buizel unleashed Water Gun and soaked them all to the bone. When one man tried to grab Kayoko again, Ponyta got in his way and knocked him out with a tackle. Claudine very bravely, as usual, used Sand Attack on a few of them, leaving them with sand in their eyes, unable to lay their grimy hands on Kayoko or the rest of her Pokemon. I could believe how courageous these Pokemon were, even though the men had every advantage going for them. These Pokemon actually stood up for Kayoko, probably to repay her for the kindness she showed to them despite being a new trainer. I was about to get away as well...until I felt a strong blow against my head. Everything went black. But I did hear voices echoing in the darkness.

"No! Dad! Don't take Sylveon away! She's my friend!"

"You don't have a say in this, Kayoko! These Pokemon are a bad influence on you! You will not have any Pokemon ever again, and that is final!"

"No! No no no NOOO! SYLVEOOOON!"

That was the last I heard or saw of Kayoko.


	9. My Two Big Brothers

Chapter 9: My Two Big Brothers

What happened after that was all a blur. Well, a bunch of blurs to be more precise, as I was unconscious most of the time, but whenever I would try to wake up, I would hear voices shouting in the distance and feel something like a hypodermic needle in my fur, sending me back into the dark abyss of unconsciousness. Blurs were all I saw in between. But I knew one thing for sure: Kayoko was gone. Her dad forcibly took me away, just like how those people caught me as I wandered off from Floccesy Ranch to get the ball. That distant yet somber and sorrowful memory seemed so far away, and to recall it made me feel oddly chilly inside, like the temperature in a room had dropped drastically. It had been a long time since I ever recalled memories of when I was an Eevee, and I knew that I could never be an Eevee again. But I did wish things would go back to normal. I really wanted to go home. Really bad. But my body wouldn't listen, as it felt limper than the chocolate pudding that Serena loved to eat so much. My eyes wouldn't open. It felt like they were glued shut. But my ears still managed to catch some voices, even though they were barely listenable due to my fluctuating state of unconsciousness.

"How much is that thing?"

"Six hundred."

"Sold! Here ya go!"

I heard nothing else until I suddenly began hearing the sounds of very pained, high pitched roaring that assaulted the insides of my ears so much that they almost shattered whatever I had left of my eardrums like they were breaking glass. They were all so vociferous and so assaulting that they practically scared me awake. When I woke up, the first thing I realized that, just like when I was an Eevee, I was in a cage. This one was much bigger and much less sanitary than the other one. The steel bars were rusty and had lots of icky brown spots on them. I even saw some dark marks on the floor of the cage below my feet. I really didn't want to know what made them. But being in the cage wasn't my biggest problem. No, it was far from being my biggest problem. It was what was outside my cage that proved to be my biggest problem...and what scared me the most.

There were other cages outside. Full of small Pokemon. Most of them I recognized, like Lillipup, Patrat, Riolu, Tepig, Panpour, Pansage, Pansear, and Mareep. Others I didn't recognize, like a green turtle Pokemon with leaves on its head, a fiery yellow and red monkey Pokemon (it wasn't a Pansear), a purple and white rat Pokemon, a pale blue creature, a purplish pink one that looks about the same as it, a white cat Pokemon with black ears and a yellow oval shaped thing shining on its head, and an orange dog-like Pokemon with lots of cream colored fur on its head, neck, and tail with some black stripes. There were some more, but I couldn't see them because I was surrounded by other cages that blocked my view. Unfortunately, they all shared one thing in common, which scared me to no end.

All of them were unusually and vehemently vicious. All of them roared and howled like ferocious, wild Pokemon, louder than anything I've ever heard before in my whole entire life. The noise they made inundated my poor, sensitive ears, and they didn't seem to want to come to a cessation at all. All of them looked very thin and gaunt, like they had been deprived of food for months. All of their eyes were wide and bloodshot, like they were about to pop right out of their faces at any moment. All of them were covered in both old and fresh scars that didn't look like something that came from a typical Pokemon battle. Some of the scars even looked bloody. But even worse...one Lillipup's entire ear was missing, like it had been bitten right off by an enormous set of teeth, maybe tombstone sized. One Patrat's tail was missing, like it had been sawed off. One Mareep had nearly all of its fur shaved off, possibly very violently considering all the bloody scars I saw on its body, with only a few tufts remaining, and it looked like it had been sent through a room full of moving saws. The Tepig's left eye had a huge gash on it, and it looked fresh...and it didn't look like its eye was there anymore! One purple Pokemon had a jagged looking bump on it that looked like the remains of a horn that had been hacked off, and a huge part of its right ear was missing. The pale blue Pokemon and the rat Pokemon both looked like they had their big teeth broken. But it was the fiery monkey Pokemon that scared me the most, as it was literally covered from head to toe with scars, and the flame on its tail literally exploded and blazed like the forest fire that Dilandau caused two years ago. Its eyes were COMPLETELY red, red like the red lights on the fire trucks we saw when Dilandau set that forest on fire, and it howled louder and more ferociously than any of the other Pokemon in the room. It gripped the rusty cage bars like crazy and screamed and screamed.

I couldn't make all of this up if I tried. I wish I really was making it up.

But not only that, the room were all stuck in was really cramped. It was only as big as the stables where Vicky and Darien kept the Ponyta. Worse than that, it was filthy! Absolutely filthy! Filthier than anything I ever saw in my entire life! This had to be the most putrid, noisome, and unsanitary room I had ever been thrown in. At least the science lab I was kept in when Dr. Urbschat took care of me was nice, shiny, fresh, and clean. The walls looked like they were made out of barely finished wood, with lots of duct tape and some kind of mushy stuff I didn't even dare ask about stashed in some holes in huge numbers. There were no windows, so not a single sunbeam or trace of light came inside at all. No breeze, no sunlight, nothing. The room itself was lit up with a single light bulb, bright enough to light the entire room, even though I wished it was dark so I wouldn't have had to see those awful scars and injuries on all of those Pokemon. The floor was covered with straw, similar to the straw that Vicky, Darien, Heidi, and Silas would give to the Ponyta, only none of the straw here even looked anything near edible. However, the smell was what inundated and assaulted my nostrils unmercifully. It was the worst thing I ever smelled. It smelled like the odor that a Stunky would let out, combined with rotten eggs, and Pokemon droppings. Times that by ten thousand, and you still wouldn't be able to smell how utterly and disgustingly noisome and putrid it was. This place looked like it hadn't been cleaned up since the beginning of time! There were even a bunch of brown marks on the walls on all sides. I had an idea of what they were, but I wouldn't dare reveal it. Even if I did, anyone who came in would probably run out of the room anyway.

I knew I had to get out of here and fast. There was no way I'd be able to last long in here.

The first thing I tried was ramming the rusty steel bars of my cage. Unfortunately, they proved to be a lot stronger and sturdier than they looked, probably much more so than the cage I was trapped in at the science lab when I was an Eevee. The cage didn't even move, even though I knew I was on top of some other Pokemon. I couldn't see them because the floor below me wasn't transparent. The noise from all the high pitched roars was really getting to me, but I knew I had to focus if I wanted to get out. Soon, after many a Tackle attack didn't work, I decided to use some of my other attacks. Trump Card, Swift, and Bite. But none of them worked. The bars didn't even get scratched. I slumped back onto the floor, feeling exhausted and hungrier than an Ursaring.

It was then that a little door opened and in came a very odd and grimy-looking man. He had light skin and a face with a lot of scars decorating it. One on his forehead, a tiny one right underneath his eye, and one on his chin, near his scrawny little beard. He had very messy blonde hair trapped in a baseball hat that was worn backwards. His dark brown eyes were devoid of the smallest mote of kindness. They were literally filled to the brim with nothing but malice, animosity, hostility, and darkness. Not even the most rudimentary sense of kindness, gentleness, generosity, patience, or love was within them. Only hatred swam around in them like a rampaging Gyarados. He wore a grey hoodie with the word FIGHT written on it in red, black, and white, along with sagging tan jean shorts. He really needed to pull them up, as nobody I knew ever had their pants down that low, and to me it was disgusting, only much less so than the horrible odor that consumed the room he entered. He was also wearing big black sneakers with pale orange laces. Someone else came in with him, a younger man with shaggy black hair, dark blue eyes, darker skin albeit still rather light, a white T-shirt, a black hoodie wrapped around his waist, light blue jeans, and brown boots. As soon as he came into the room, his hands flew to his nose.

It was easy to figure out why.

"UGH! Dang, McCoy! I dunno how you can handle 'dis horrible smell, man!" The man who just came in exclaimed, not hesitant about being disgusted with the awful smell. I couldn't blame him.

"I thought I told ya to call me Theseus, Hubbard!" The man with the scars on his face, Theseus McCoy, snapped at the other man, Hubbard.

"Sorry, Theseus!" Hubbard stuttered fearfully at Theseus. I could see why he would be so afraid of him, and I don't blame him. This Theseus didn't look like he could ever be even remotely capable of being magnanimous to anyone, even Pokemon. I shrunk into my rusty cage fearfully when he gave me a very scathing glance. Then, without any warning or hesitation, he kicked my cage and made me fall to the ground.

"So 'dis is 'dat pansy you bought, Hubbard?" Theseus asked, without taking his eyes off of me. He kept them on me like he feared I was going to escape. His inhuman eyes locked me in place, and I knew that if I did anything at all, even the tiniest little thing, he'd probably hit me or do something worse.

"Y-Y-Y-Yes. Some rich guy sold it to me. It's one of the new Pokemon that was discovered two years ago. Lemme see..." Hubbard stammered and yanked out a little handbook that looked brand new, like he bought it recently. "Ah! Here it is! This little thing's called a Sylveon, a new evolved form of Eevee, and it's a fairy type. They're still very rare, but very valuable."

"Dat explains why you spent six hundred bucks on it," Theseus piped in with an animal-like growl. He then pulled some keys out and unlocked my cage. I wanted to get away, but I was so hungry and so tired that I could barely run at my usual speed. That, and he yanked my ear like it was a rope. It really hurt! He clenched onto me very tightly, like he was intent on keeping me here.

"It looks strong. Maybe we can put it against Coy Jenkins and see how strong it is. The match is about to start in five minutes," Hubbard said.

A smug smirk appeared on Theseus's face, and I really didn't like the look of it. "All the more fun for me!" Theseus muttered. Then, he dragged me out of the room by my ear. While I was glad I finally got pulled out of that awful smelling room and away from the howling Pokemon, I had a really bad gut feeling that they were dragging me into something awful.

I didn't bother to resist, even though the pain that came from being dragged by my ear bothered me to no end. After a few seconds, we arrived in what looked like a very crudely made arena, which looked more like a little fence-like pen made out of wood. There were a bunch of scary looking guys all around the arena. They all turned to fix their gaze on me. I absolutely hated the looks they gave me, which ranged from confused to disgusted.

"Dat's their new fighter?"

"Man! 'Dat thang looks like a pansy!"

"Looks like somefin' a retard would use!"

"Jeez! It's pink! Talk about girly!"

"Dat the best you got, Theseus?! Or are you goin' soft on us?!"

"Show us what'cha got, Theseus!"

"Get that thang away from here!"

"This has gotta be a joke!"

"I ain't usin' that thang!"

"Beatin' 'dis thang is child's play, yo!"

If there was one thing I really hated about being the center of their attention, it was the fact that they kept referring to me as a _"thang"_ which I think was a really bad way of saying the word thing. I knew in my heart that I was NOT an object to be used. I know for a fact that if Hikaru were to be put in a situation like this, she'd retaliate right away and show them what she's made of despite the danger. I wanted to do so myself, but these guys were big, buff, and looked very strong. I was sure they'd thwart any attempt I had to escape and do whatever they wanted with me as punishment. I didn't want that happening. It was bad enough just being in that room with the Pokemon, who I think may have all been abused or mistreated by these guys. I felt sorry for them and wished I could help them all, but some of them looked like they were beyond all help, and I wasn't sure if there was anything I could do for them, even though I oh so wanted to set them all free. They didn't deserve this, just like how Vapor didn't deserve to be stuck with a mean trainer who forced him to evolve into a Jolteon against his will and being berated for everything just for not meeting his expectations. They deserved much better.

All of a sudden, Theseus finally let my ear go but kicked me in the arena. Right after that, someone else brought in another Pokemon, only this one was really vicious, so much so that the guy carrying him in was clinging to his leash, which was attached to his collar, a black one with sharp, silver spikes protruding from it. The Pokemon's fur was red, but he had a huge fluffy yellow neck and tail, along with one fluffy little yellow tuft on top of his head, right in between his long, pointed red ears. He also had black eyes that looked permanently made to be vicious and full of vehement hostility, like all the innocence and kindness he had was violently stripped away from him.

What surprised me at first was that the Pokemon in question was a Flareon.

Alseides wanted to be a Flareon.

As soon as the Flareon laid eyes on me, he howled and growled and tried to break away from the leash to lunge at me, but the man managed to keep him from lunging at me until someone stated otherwise. Was I supposed to battle him? Was this supposed to be some false Pokemon battle? Then I remembered the Emolga I met back in Floccesy Ranch, Remi. She said that Pokemon battles are different from Pokemon just fighting. Battles are how Pokemon understand each other and learn about each other. Fighting is...just that, fighting. I wound up hearing some people talk in the audience.

"Man, 'dat 'dere Flareon sure is a tough one. I'm surprised Jenkins managed to control 'em for so long. Where's 'dat thang from anyway?" One guy asked someone next to him.

"He said somethin' about gettin' him from some nowhere place called Floccesy Ranch," The other guy said.

What? My ears perked up in alarm. Floccesy Ranch? Really? I thought my ears were playing tricks on me because the audience suddenly began cheering and throwing their fists into the air, but my ears were too sensitive to lie to me.

If this Flareon was from Floccesy Ranch, then that could mean he was one of my brothers, as no Eevee are indigenous to Unova! I crossed Lucretia off the list because she's being taken care of by Redena, Bolt because Leonard caught him, Vapor because he was forced to evolve into a Jolteon, and Moondancer because he evolved into an Umbreon. So which one was this Flareon? Alseides? Konoha? Yuki? I had no way of figuring it out, as this Flareon kept howling and growling ferociously, and it didn't look like he recognized me.

"Really? But Eevee ain't around in Unova."

"Yeah, I know, but he heard some Darien guy was breedin' some and found one beatin' a Patrat outside the gate. Said he saw that lil Eevee was as wild as a rampagin' Bouffalant, crazier and angrier than anything he'd ever seen!"

Something Lucretia said creeped into my brain as the guys talked amongst themselves. She said that ever since Bolt and I were captured, Alseides' personality underwent a very drastic change. He became more cynical, more brash, more reckless, and more prone to getting into trouble, or something like that. She also said that he ran away.

I shook my head. This Flareon couldn't be Alseides, even though all the signs pointed to it.

However, one thing confirmed it.

"Ready?! Fight!" Theseus screamed wildly as the man let go of the Flareon's leash.

As soon as the leash was off, the Flareon literally lunged right at me. I managed to evade his first three attempts, but he managed to bite one of the flowy streamers on my head and yanked on it really hard, throwing me into the dirt. Then he leaped on me and tried to bite my face. Quickly, I managed to smack him in the face with my paw hard enough to make him flinch so I could escape.

As soon as I got back up, I saw it.

The fierce, feral, volatile glint in his eyes.

That's when I realized it.

Alseides had that look, and has kept it on his face ever since Moondancer left. Alseides' cruel words echoed in my head again.

"_It's YOUR fault, you brainless dip! You were there! If you hadn't been so slow and stupid Bolt would still be here! You could have saved him but you didn't!"_

"_You should have been captured instead of him! You're way stupider than the rest of us and you're always in the way! You let him get captured on purpose! I'll bet you're happy he and Moondancer are gone!"_

_"Stop acting like you're so important! You may think you're so awesome and smart, but you're nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! You're just a big fat crybaby who'll never amount to anything! You'll be a big fat baby forever, and nobody will ever like you!"_

Alseides had that look when he said those mean things to me.

It all became clear.

"Al...? Al?! Is that you?! It's me, Sylvia! Your little sister!" I suddenly yelled out of the blue, even as this Flareon, Alseides, lunged at me yet again, digging his sharp teeth into my ear and causing me to yelp in pain. I smacked him with my front paws and tried to run, but he kept chasing me and growling at me. It didn't help that I was getting hungry.

"Al! Stop doing this! You have to listen to me!" I pleaded.

"Stop running away and fight me, you weakling!" Alseides yelled as he bit one of my back legs.

"GET OFF!" Angrily and in pain, I kicked him in the face with one of my back legs, sending him spiraling against one of the walls. He didn't get up right away, so I took it as an opportunity to try and convince him to remember me.

"Alseides! It's me, Sylvia! Your little sister! Don't you remember me at all?! You don't deserve to be treated like this!" I yelled.

"I don't...have any sisters or brothers, and my name is NOT Alseides!" He snapped angrily and tried to lunge at me again similar to how Gator did back in the desert after I left Danali's place. What he said left me confused. How come he says he doesn't have any brothers and sisters? Did these guys condition him so much that they made him forget everything about his family, me included? The vociferous sound of the people around me cheering didn't make matters better.

"Smack 'dat widdle weaklin' down, Flareon!"

"Git 'er down!"

"Tear 'dat thang to pieces, yo!"

"Man, 'dat scrawny little thing is a weakling after all!"

"You better surrender, Theseus!"

"You better fight back, pinky!"

"I paid thirty bucks for this?!"

All of a sudden, Alseides jumped on me, pinning me to the ground, freezing me in place with both his scarred and bruised paws and the icy and feral stare in his eyes. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This couldn't have been my brother, but it was. He got to be a Flareon, that's good, but to think he was suffering an even worse fate than Vapor...there was no way I could leave him. I knew I had to get him out of here, no matter what. I didn't care if he protested this time. He might have still blamed me for letting Bolt get captured by Leonard and nothing I said got through to him back then.

"Alseides! You have to listen to me! You shouldn't be doing this! You deserve to be raised by a good trainer and to be happy! This isn't what you want, is it?!" I pleaded sadly, with tears coming out of my eyes.

"Stop calling me Alseides, you big baby!" Alseides yelled as he scratched me really hard in the face and then tried to bite it. I only barely managed to keep his ferocious, feral face out of mine, but I knew very well that whatever kind of training Alseides was forced to endure, he was much stronger than me by miles. There was no way I'd be able to win against him with just physical strength.

But then, just as he was about to try and bite me again, I saw an open window. It was night time. The full moon was high in the sky, looking like it was telling me, "You can do it! Believe in yourself! Stand up to him and show him what you're made of!"

I had to...so I did.

"MOONBLAST!" A pale blue light enveloped my battered and emaciated body, then formed at my mouth. Without any mercy, I allowed the light to fly right at Alseides. Unlike my attack on Dilandau, this one proved to be much stronger, so much so that not only did it knock Alseides flying, it actually broke through the glass window! I made a way out! Everyone in the audience was abuzz with shock.

"Whoa! Didja see 'dat?!"

"Hey! Special attacks are against 'da rules, yo!"

"Dat sure wasn't any attack I've ever seen..."

"What was 'dat attack anyway?"

Not wanting to stick around any longer, I used Swift on the arena and it helped me fly toward the broken window. Thankfully, it was big enough for both me and Alseides to get through.

"It's gettin' away!"

"After 'dem!" Theseus exclaimed angrily.

Much to my surprise, the bottom of the window is right in front of a patch of grass. When I looked up, I saw a big, old, decrepit house. The house I just got out of probably led to some basement. Thankfully, once I looked back, I saw an injured and weak Alseides about a few feet ahead. I knew I had to get him out of here. Who knows what those bad people could do to him? He was awake when I approached him.

"Good! You're okay! Let's get you-" I was about to tend to him until I found fire flying right into my face. I left myself open for a Flamethrower attack, just like how I did with Dilandau when he set that forest on fire in Icirrus City. Alseides stood up once he finished his attack, though his legs trembled, like he was forcing himself to get up. Because it was so dark, I could barely see the injuries he sported, but I could tell that a lot of them looked very serious and needed fixing immediately.

"Don't touch me, you pansy freak! We're finishing this, NOW!" Alseides yelled and lunged at me again. Not wanting to leave myself open this time, I kicked him in the stomach, leaving him unable to breathe.

"No! I don't care what you say! I'm getting you out of here whether you like it or not!" Those men were coming. I knew that if we stayed here, they'd catch us and probably do really bad things to us, probably even worse than the actual fights.

However, getting Alseides out of there would prove to be a very hard and daunting task to do. For one thing, Alseides no longer had the energy to stand up all on his own. I figured I could carry him and throw him on my back. Despite looking very emaciated and weak, Alseides proved to be very heavy once I got him on my back, and when I tried to walk with him on it, I almost fell over quite a few times. My legs felt like a bunch of bricks were being duct taped to pieces of spaghetti. But I knew I couldn't let this stop me from saving my big brother. It was night time, and I figured if we ran into some bush or cave, maybe we could be camouflaged by the darkness so the men wouldn't be able to find us. But the nearest forest was about forty feet away from us. Even though I could see some trees in the horizon, they all looked really small from where Alseides and I were.

Sadly, I only managed to get about ten feet away when the men caught sight of us.

"Dere they are! Get 'em!"

"OH NO!" I yelled and tried to run further, but not only was Alseides too heavy for me to carry, Alseides himself woke up and got off of me. Soon, Theseus, Hubbard, and some other guy threw a big bag on me and pressed down on the edges, keeping me from getting away.

But I knew of a way out. I used Trump Card and tore the bag open with my magical cards.

Then, I decided to do something very out of character. I knew doing something like this was very unlike me, but I knew I had to if I wanted to get away.

I attacked all the men with Swift. I chased them away with my attack and sent them running back to the house. Unfortunately, Alseides had already been forced back to the house.

I don't know why, but I ran to another part of the big field, caught my breath, and licked some of the bite marks that Alseides left on me. Some of them were really deep, and just licking them made them sting with pain, like I was being burned. After resting for a bit, guilt swept over me. Even though I tried so hard, I couldn't save Alseides, and worst yet, I ran away. Then again, the men were probably much stronger than the both of us, and considering Alseides was so weak, he was probably unable to fight back. That, and he clearly didn't want to have anything to do with me except be his opponent and nothing more. But even though he's changed so much, I knew he was my brother, and if he stayed here, I feared he wouldn't last long. Once I regained some of my energy, I went back to the broken glass window.

But instead of seeing an empty arena, I saw something horrible.

The man who put him in the arena in the first place was cornering Alseides, kicking him with his big cleats and punching him with his fists.

And Alseides was too weak to stand up to him.

"You're a weakling! You gotta be the most pathetic Pokemon I ever seen, yo! You used to be strong, but now you ain't worth nuttin'! I had high hopes for ya! You were the most powerful Pokemon we had, and you had to repay my kindness by losing to some weak, pink, girly, pansy retard!"

Weakling? Pathetic? Not worth anything? Repaying his so called _"kindness"_? A volcano erupted deep within the depths of my heart, prompting me to go down there and give that Pokemon abuser a taste of his own medicine.

And that's exactly what I did.

I flew right in between Alseides and the man and unleashed an epic Moonblast on him, sending him to the other wall. How can he be so cruel, So selfish, So inconsiderate, So pathetic, and so downright heartless to a Pokemon he's using for his own gain? It's his own fault Alseides was like this! And how dare have the audacity to refer to his incessant abuse as kindness and take his anger out on Alseides just because he himself made him too weak to do anything?! That's what made me explode, and really, it felt GREAT to finally turn the tables on him! Adrenaline surged all throughout my body, like I had been revitalized thanks to my boiling anger. Once I managed to scare him enough to make him soil himself, I grabbed Alseides by the tail, hopped on some boxes and went right back out the window. As I ran with the tip of Alseides's tail in my mouth, I heard a thud and some voices telling him to put his hands in the air. I didn't bother to stay behind and see what happened, as I needed to get Alseides out of there.

Since he was too heavy for me to carry all by myself, I had no choice but to drag him along with his tail in my mouth. I felt really bad about having to do this, but there was no other alternative. If there was another way to carry him to the nearest Pokemon Center or something, I'd jump at it in a heartbeat. Thankfully, the forest was quiet and there were no Pokemon around as far as I could see. But I had to admit, the forest was pretty dismal and scary, and I could barely see anything up ahead. However, I did notice that some parts of the sky were a slightly lighter shade of blue than the rest of it. I assumed that morning was coming soon. I wound up bumping into some trees, but they didn't stop me from dragging Alseides deeper into the forest. I wasn't sure where we were going, but I knew I had to get him some help, and fast, or he'd die right there.

I had no idea how much time passed since we both left that wretched house, but as soon as I saw some pretty red patches in the sky, Alseides woke up and kicked me in the face with one of his back legs.

"OW! What was that for?!" I yelped in pain.

"Fight me, you pansy!" Alseides demanded.

"No! I don't wanna fight you!"

"So what? I'm gonna fight you anyway!"

"Alseides! This has to stop! We're not at the house anymore, and you don't have to keep doing this!"

"Yes I do! It's all I'm good for, and stop calling me Alseides!"

"No it isn't, and no you don't!"

"Stop telling me how to live my life! I threw away my name and my life back at the ranch! None of those things do anything for me!"

"SO WHAT?! Wouldn't you much rather be loved and accepted and treated well?!"

"You won't get anywhere in life with those things! Why do you think I threw away my name and my former life?! All it's done is hold me back!"

"That's what you think! Please! Just come with me to get help! Look how injured you are!"

"Stop trying to help me, you pink pansy! I LIKE fighting! I love tearing Pokemon apart! It proves that I'm strong and they're weak!"

He was starting to remind me of Dilandau, and that made me shiver in terror. But I couldn't give up. Not after seeing all of those old scars on his body.

"No1 You're coming with me to get help! You won't last much longer!" I bit on his ear and tried to drag him away.

"Get off me, pinky!" Soon, he and I wound up getting into a cat fight. We scratched and bit and kicked and rolled around like crazy people. But what we didn't realize is that we fought so much that we were rolling deeper into the forest, so much so that we wound up rolling right toward the edge of a cliff. I managed to break out of Alseides's grasp once we got too close.

"Why...why do you keep trying so hard to help me? Can't you see I don't need you stupid help?! You're just trying to make yourself look good and keep me from doing what I want!" Alseides snapped angrily.

"Is fighting and dying really what you want?!" I snapped back.

"Eh?" His scarred ears drooped down a little. That was all he said.

"Think about it! Fighting isn't going to make you happy, especially if you're so hurt that you could die from your injuries! It's great that you got to be a Flareon, and I'm happy for you, but...you don't deserve to be treated bad by those people! Haven't you thought about what doing this could mean for me?! For the family?! Don't you miss Mother and Father even a little bit?! They loved you! They loved you and the rest of us just because we were their children and nothing more! They'd be so sad if they saw you tearing up Pokemon and scarring them for life, even killing them, just because you're stuck at the mercy of some idiot who uses Pokemon as tools for recognition and glory without considering what his actions are doing to them in the long run!"

"I have no family! You don't know anything, you stupid brainless dip!"

"So what if I'm a stupid brainless dip?! I can understand if you're angry that Moondancer left! I don't care if you still think I'm responsible for Bolt getting captured! That's fine! But don't...don't ruin yourself like this! You're my big brother! You're Father's pride and joy! You're the Flareon of the family! You used to be cheerful and energetic and bright and optimistic, even though you liked to tease your younger siblings every once in a while! You said you wanted to be a great Flareon! You said you wanted to be your own Pokemon and not be someone's puppet! Are you seriously willing to throw everything away just because someone expects you to be perfect and will throw you away if you don't meet their expectations?!"

I expected Alseides to yell at me like he did when Bolt got captured, but instead, I got something worse. The rocks underneath us suddenly gave out, and we both found ourselves rolling down the cliff. We couldn't hold onto anything because the rocky cliff was surprisingly smooth, and our paws were too small to firmly grip the rocks. We fell a pretty great distance. Finally, we both bounced onto some smooth grass, even though it still hurt once we fell on a flat surface. I don't know how long I was out, but when I woke up, I could see a myriad of lights in the distance. We were near a town, and where there's a town, there's usually a Pokemon Center. Alseides could get the help he needed and possibly survive! Despite feeling woozy and light headed, I looked around for Alseides...

Only to find him lying just a couple feet away from me, completely unconscious and dirty. His yellow fur had multiple brown and red spots on them, dirtying its sun-like shine. It was like all the life had finally leaked out of him. I pushed him a little with my paws, but he didn't wake up.

"Al?" I asked. No response. "Al? Alfie? Come on! Wake up!" I shook him harder, but he didn't budge.

"My...name...Al...sei...des..." He muttered weakly in his sleep.

No.

It couldn't be. I didn't dare think it was happening in front of me. Watching Bolt get captured was one thing, and it was bad enough watching Dilandau kill all of those Pokemon in Chargestone Cave, but this...I couldn't bear it!

"No...No! Alseides! Get up! You'll be okay! There's a town nearby! You can get the help you need! You just have to get up! Get up! Please, big brother!" I pleaded and shook him as hard as I could, but he didn't wake up or move.

For a moment, I thought it was a dream. But it wasn't.

Alseides just laid there, completely still, like a rock. I didn't even see his body rise or fall. He wasn't breathing.

"No! NO! I'm not letting you die, big brother!" I screamed as I tried throwing him on my back, hoping to carry him to the town. The sun was beginning to shine her effulgence on the forest, though her light didn't reach a very great distance. It was still dark where I was. Once I had him on my back, I used the last of my energy to try to carry him, even though my previous attempts to do so were in vain.

This one was too. I only managed to walk about ten small steps before collapsing on the leaf covered evergreen grass because I was both too weak and hungry to carry him and because Alseides himself was too heavy, even though he himself was more weak and hungry than I was.

I was out of options.

"Alseides! Please don't die! You're my big brother! I don't care if you hate me forever! I don't care if you never want to see me or Mother or Father or the rest of the gang ever again! I don't care if you never want to go back to Floccesy Ranch ever again! Please, just survive! Just live! Just live and I'll be happy! Please! Please don't die! I'm begging you, Alseides!" I screamed and cried onto his fragile body, and his red and yellow fur drank up my tears. Then I looked up at the sky pleadingly.

"HELP! SOMEONE! Someone, please help! My big brother is dying! Help! Can anyone hear me?! My brother needs help! He needs to be taken to a Pokemon Center! Please come save him! Help! Please, help! Someooooone!" I shouted and yelled and cried with all that my weak voice could muster, hoping that someone would hear my ardent, heartfelt pleas and save Alseides from death.

But it was just as I feared. No response. Not even a chirp from a Pidove.

All that was there were a bunch of trees, the lights from the nearby town, me, and an immobile Alseides.

Katie re-entered my mind. I tried to save her, but I couldn't, all because nobody bothered to understand what I was saying in time. The huge tsunamis of guilt from back then returned in full force.

With a howl, I buried myself into his tattered yellow fur and cried even harder than before. Not being able to save Bolt was one thing, but this was much worse! My big brother was dying and I couldn't do a single thing to save him no matter how much or how hard I tried.

Worse than that...I could have prevented it if only I had fought harder.

If only I hadn't run on the field to catch my breath back then.

I couldn't save Katie, and...my brother would endure the same fate as her.

"Alseides...big brother...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...you're right! You're absolutely right! I am a pathetic little weakling and a brainless dip and all those other names you called me! I'm sorry I'm such a bad sister!" I cried softly at first, then screamed into his fur.

I thought all was lost. But then, my sensitive ears picked up a voice.

"Oh? What in the world happened here? Did you call for help just now?"

I was too sad to pay much attention at first, but when I looked, I saw a thin, black figure with some yellow spots on him and piercing red eyes. My eyes were too blurry with tears to make it out fully, but his voice sounded very familiar. Not only that, the sky was brightening up, and I saw some beautiful patches of plum purple, Flareon red, and Sylveon pink mixed with the deep blue. My prayers had been answered! Someone had come to help!

But it was someone I never thought I'd see ever again.

As I wiped my pale blue eyes and made them adjust to the coming light, they widened as soon as the blurriness disappeared. The Pokemon in front of me was one I had actually seen before.

An Umbreon.

I only knew one Pokemon who was an Umbreon...and from the looks of it, he actually recognized me as his red eyes were fixated on the collar that Serena made me.

"Sylvia...? Is that...is that you, little sister?"

I couldn't help it. As soon as he called me little sister, that's when I knew, and that's when I started blubbering. I couldn't hold them back anymore. The tears poured out of my eyes like a Vaporeon using Water Gun, like Father did once.

"M-M-M-Moondancerrrrr!" Without warning, I leaped on him and wrapped my paws around his thin neck. He smiled and stroked my back gently. Normally, when our siblings would do this, he didn't like it and often called them fools for using him as their outlet. But he didn't mind when I glomped him and just stroke my fur.

"It's been such a long time, little sister. Look how big you've gotten," Moondancer whispered gently as he continued stroking my back with his pitch black paw. Just hearing his voice and feeling his fur made me so happy. But he came, and I knew I had to tell him.

"What's wrong, Sylvia?"

"B-B-Behind me..."

He looked, and saw Alseides lying there, unconscious and unmoving.

"A Flareon?" From the confused way his voice sounded, he didn't recognize him.

"It's...It's Alseides..."

"What?! That Flareon is our brother Alseides?!" I never saw him look shocked, even back at home, so this was a surprise to me too. But that was beside the point.

"He's been hurt really bad, and I think...he might be dead!" I blubbered abjectly.

"I'll check," Moondancer said as he hopped over to Alseides and put his ear against his chest.

I saw his eyes widen a little, then he looked at me calmly but solemnly.

"He's alive. His breathing is extremely faint, but he's breathing, and his heart is beating. I just came from that town over there. Come with me. I'll help you take him to the Pokemon Center," Moondancer said.

A huge torrent of relief swept over me like a tsunami. I nodded vigorously.

"Yes, sir!"

"But right now...here, have some Oran Berries," Moondancer said as his eyes glowed purple for a minute, and three fresh Oran Berries came out and floated in front of us. He was using his Psychic attack on them. I was really hungry, so once they flopped in front of me, I chomped down on every single one of them. Once I finished, my hunger had been extinguished, and I felt revitalized. But some of the scratches Alseides gave me still hurt. Moondancer could see me flinch a little once I tried to move a bit, but I knew we had to get Alseides to a Pokemon Center and fast, or he really would die.

As my persisting hunger finally dissipated, Moondancer and I both carried the limp, unconscious, and immobile Alseides on our backs. This proved to be much easier than doing it all alone, as already I felt lighter than before, though that was because Al's legs and tail were on my back while Moondancer carried the rest of him. I wasn't sure how I'd be able to keep up with Moondancer, as I wasn't sure if he was faster than me, but for the most part, we managed to carry him just fine, and I kept up with him just fine, too. We walked instead of ran because if we did, Moondancer would probably outrun me, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep up. We would have liked to run to the Pokemon Center so we'd get there faster, but if we did, then Alseides would fall off. We didn't want that happening.

Even though it took us a while to get into town, we managed to make it to the Pokemon Center. The sun had fully risen and was shining her golden effulgence on the world, brightening it up completely. People and Pokemon began bustling about, but not in great numbers. I saw a young boy playing with a Pidove and an Oshawott happily, like they were his best friends. I saw a young woman and her baby watering some flowers with the help of a Roselia. We managed to reach the front of the Pokemon Center, but just as we did, a lady with pink hair in two loopy curls, a lighter pink dress, and a white apron came out in front of us. A pink and tan Pokemon with big ears and blue eyes, darker in shade than mine, followed her out.

"Let's go get some Oran Berries for the Pokemon, Audino," The lady said to the Pokemon, Audino, who stopped to look at us.

"Au! Au! Audino!" Audino exclaimed, which I translated as, "Nurse Joy! Look!" and pointed right to us, which prompted the lady to look at us as well. Once she saw Alseides on our backs, battered and near death, she gasped and scooped him into her arms.

"Oh no! You poor thing! Audino! Get the stretcher ready for the Flareon and this pink one," The lady, Nurse Joy as the Audino called her, commanded.

"Audino!" She exclaimed, which I translated as, "Yes, ma'am!" and ran into the Pokemon Center and back out with a little white bed with wheels on it. She put Alseides on there and then me as well, probably because of my scratches. We were both wheeled in, and Moondancer stayed outside.

When we were wheeled into the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy carried me in her arms and took me to another room. Then she wheeled Alseides into another room and stayed there as the Audino from before stayed with me and began tending to my wounds. Some of the disinfectants they put on me stung, but I knew they were being used to clean them and make sure they don't have any diseases in them, so I endured it. Then, the Audino washed them down with water and wrapped them all in white gauze as gently as she could. Soon, another lady came into the room, this time with light brown hair in a braid like Kayoko had, but this one had a yellow ribbon. She had hazel eyes hidden behind some square shaped glasses, and had on a white lab coat and green slip on shoes.

"Nurse Joy told me everything. How is it, Audino?" The woman asked.

"Au au audino. Audi audi audino audino," Audino told her, which I translated as, "Hi Cecilia. I took care of her small wounds and disinfected them all, but some of them may need stitches," As she told her, she pointed to a box and then gestured toward her arm and ear. The lady, Cecilia, took a look at my ear and some parts of my body. She didn't look too happy.

"Wow. This one definitely needs stitches. I'll get the anesthetic," Cecilia said as she ran out of the room. Audino smiled at me and put a paw on my body.

"Don't worry. You'll get better soon," Audino told me kindly, in a sweet voice.

"Umm...do you know if my brother will be okay?" I was really anxious to ask this, as I was really worried. Audino could see the worry painted all over my face.

"To be honest, I don't know. He looked really bad. But Nurse Joy and the others will do everything they can to save him. I can't guarantee it, though," Audino replied.

"What are stitches?"

"You ear and parts of your body got torn up pretty good, so putting gauze on them probably won't fix it completely, so they're going to sew them up by hand."

"But won't that hurt?"

"Cecilia's getting the anesthetic. That's the stuff they put in booster needles that they put in you so you won't feel the pain."

"Booster...needle?"

As soon as I asked that uneasily, Cecilia came in with a white box in her hand. She pulled out the booster needle, which was thin but looked sharp. I couldn't help but tremble a little in fear. Cecilia could see that I was scared and stroke my fur with her hand.

"Don't worry, little one. It'll just be a quick one, okay? I'm sorry to have to do this, but after this, you won't feel anything once we start stitching you up. Just be brave, okay?" Cecilia told me kindly. Not wanting to see the needle go into my skin, I covered my eyes with my paws. Then I felt a very strong pinch that made me yelp a little. I was glad I didn't unknowingly hit or kick any of them. They waited a few minutes, then started putting a string and a needle through some of my bad wounds, like on my ear and parts of my body where Alseides bit down really hard. I thought it'd hurt, and it looked like it would, but I didn't feel a thing, even though my body felt numb all over. Audino kept a hand on my paw as Cecilia began sewing my wounds up like she was working on embroidery, which I often saw Vicky work on back in Floccesy Ranch.

"You'll be okay. You don't feel the pain because that booster shot had the anesthetic in it. That stuff she put in you numbs your body so you won't feel anything at all. For really big stuff, they use it to make people go to sleep completely. It won't be long now," Audino told me reassuringly, and I smiled, feeling relieved that they were taking care of me.

"Thanks. But I'm more concerned about my brother," I told her worriedly.

"That Flareon is your brother?"

"Yes. I saved him from bad people who were using him to fight other Pokemon, and I'm not talking about Pokemon battles, either."

"I get what you mean. There's lots of people who hold illegal fighting tournaments and make Pokemon tear each other up without considering the consequences. Lots of Pokemon have even died because of that."

"Illegal means bad, right?"

"Yes. Fighting is different from battling. We battle because it's one of the ways we try to communicate with and understand other Pokemon better. It's the simplest way for us to do so, since we can't talk to humans. The more intense the battle, the more the true nature of the Pokemon is revealed."

Remi said something similar. But I just continued to worry about Alseides as Cecilia sewed on some more tiny stitches. Soon, she finished, and I felt a lot better. Cecilia and Audino wheeled me into the recovery room, which was full of little beds for Pokemon. Strangely enough, the Pokemon I saw in the recovery room were the exact same ones from that awful smelling room I was in, all the way down to that angry Chimchar with the bloodshot eyes, who was sleeping contentedly, covered in gauze and bandages. Perhaps someone told them about the fighting in the house and made sure the police got all the Pokemon out okay. In fact, a TV was on, and a lady with frizzy red hair was talking.

"_Here I am in front of the condemned house that the police raided where they caught multiple escaped fugitives forcing kidnapped Pokemon to bloodily fight each other and tear each other apart. The police say that a mysterious young man with long green hair told them about the illegal activities going on and showed them this house here. Pokemon fighting has been declared illegal and different from Pokemon battling since about sixty years ago. Thankfully, many of the Pokemon that were in this house were saved except for two, a Flareon and a Sylveon. Unfortunately, the police have also discovered that some other Pokemon, if they failed to defeat their opponent, were executed via means of electrocution, hanging, or battery. All of the fugitives have been arrested by the police and are being charged with Pokemon fighting and many other felonies."_

A green haired man? Hikaru said something about a green haired man saving her after she was released by that mean trainer after she lost a battle with a Bouffalant. The only green haired man I knew of was Cilan, one of the three gym leaders at Striaton City, but Hikaru said the man she met had long, fluffy green hair, flawless white skin, and a nice voice. I had to admit, I wished I had met that green haired man. His stepping up and telling the police about what was happening saved me. But...was Alseides okay? I was fine, but I still heard nothing about his condition. I stayed in the recovery room for what seemed to be hours until the Audino from before came to see me, looking extremely jovial.

"Great news! Your brother is okay! He made it through surgery!" Audino exclaimed.

"What?! He is?! Yaaaaay!" I squealed, completely swept away by a torrent of elation and danced on my bed like someone who had too much sugar. After about a few seconds, I calmed down. "So...when can I see him?"

"He's about to be rolled in here soon. But I heard Nurse Joy and Cecilia talking. They managed to save him with all they had, but they have a feeling because of the prolonged abuse, the severe extent of his injuries, and how long he went without receiving any form of treatment, he may not be able to battle for a very long time. His body has gotten too fragile for battling now," Audino said. Right after that, the door opened and Cecilia rolled an unconscious Alseides into another part of the room, and gently put him on a bed. As soon as she left, I ambled over to his bed and hopped onto it.

There he was, lying on a blanket, covered in huge heaps of gauze and bandages, sleeping with a very serene, content, and halcyon expression on his beet red face, his body rising and falling with the rhythm of his breathing. He looked like he hadn't slept this well in a very long time, and I was glad he wouldn't ever have to suffer anymore. Many parts of his body had been stitched up too, like mine, only he had to get more stitches in many other places, like on both his ears, his feet, and other parts of his body. His yellow fur had been cleaned up very nicely and looked bright and sunny, like the sun in the morning sky. I stroke his head gently with my paw as some tears silently plopped out of my eyes.

"You're okay. I'm so glad...you don't have to endure all that abuse anymore, Alseides," I whispered quietly. Then I decided to do something else.

I sang the song I heard in that cafe after Katie killed herself.

"_Should I ever trip, how should I get right back up?_

_It's just a thought…I simply asked while absent minded…_

_There wasn't a single lie in my shattered past,_

_but will truth lie in the future I envision?_

_Everyone is born alone, and that is exactly why_

_we try to live together with others._

_I firmly hold the strength to live and its meaning_

_that you taught me deep in my heart._

_Let's start here so from now on_

_everything will one day bloom with a flower of hope._

_We come to learn what is truly important during painful times._

_They're our emotions we can't untie from…like a tangled necklace._

_We were always conscious about what happened around us…_

_But living true to oneself is how_

_we found happiness._

_Giving up isn't difficult, as opposed to continuing walking._

_But even so, the dreams we envision are vivid and will never fade._

_These hands will shiver in fear when I have to open the next door._

_During that time, when I think of you, I become stronger._

_I always pretended I never saw anything. But there is courage and loneliness._

_Fumbling around, I draw them in._

_One day, I want to make the flower of hope in my heart gently bloom._

_Together with you._

_Hoping our smiles would be brighter tomorrow than they are today,_

_I carve this path deeply in my heart._

_Let's try walking forward bit by bit and keep our sight high._

_Let's start, from here on_."

It inspired me to keep moving, so I had hoped Alseides would hear it and remember how much I love him and hopefully inspire him to keep moving as well. As I finished, I looked around to find that Audino had left. There was a window, and it was open a little bit, probably to bring some fresh air into the room. I decided to leave. Once I got to the window, I pushed it up and managed to sneak out. As soon as I did, Moondancer saw me.

"How is he?" Moondancer asked as he and I sat down a little ways from the window.

"He made it through. He's going to be okay," I told him.

I saw a smile form on Moondancer's face, as he seemed very relieved. "Wonderful. So...what Pokemon have you become?"

"A Sylveon."

"What type are you?"

"A new one. A fairy type."

"What exactly happened to you?"

Like I did with Lucretia, I told him everything, only this time, it included Dilandau and Nicodemus, my tragic encounter with Vapor, and the two years I spent with Kayoko. Just like Lucretia, Moondancer listened intently, and didn't interrupt me when I told my tale to him. Once I finished, he looked at the field before him with a wistful gaze in his shiny red eyes.

"I see. You've been through quite a lot, Sylvia. I have to wonder if it was a coincidence that your given name happened to be related to the form you're in now," Moondancer muttered solemnly.

"Yeah. That might be possible," I said.

"However...I like your evolutionary form. It suits you."

"Thanks, big brother. I like it, too. What have you been doing all this time?"

"Traveling. Training. Honing my powers. Watching Pokemon and humans do their thing. I have seen many people interact with Pokemon. Some treat them like they're part of the family. Some work with them side by side, and then there are those who abandon or use them, and I despise those humans, especially those who abandon them for petty reasons and use them for their own gain. I'm honestly not surprised Alseides wound up getting caught by those men," Moondancer explained.

As I stared at him, I couldn't help but notice he looked a lot leaner and more slender than he was when I saw him leave Floccesy Ranch. He also looked a lot kinder, like a lot of his aloofness had just slipped away from him. His eyes looked softer, like he had seen lots of good things on his journey. He's been on his journey longer than I have on my own. His pitch black fur looked as sleek as ever, and the yellow things on his fur shined brighter than they had when he first evolved.

"Sylvia...what do you plan to do now? If you want, you and Alseides can come with me. We can travel together," Moondancer said.

I didn't hesitate to answer him.

"I appreciate the offer, but...I'm going to have to decline. I...I want to go back to Floccesy Ranch and tell Mother and Father or whoever's still back there that I'm alright. They must be worried about me. I know you say there's nothing there and that there's no future for us, but...the people who loved us are there, and...I'd much rather spend my days feeling loved and accepted than hated and treated like dirt. Well, to be more precise, I want to go back there and then think about what I want to do with the rest of my life. I'm not trying to be mean, Moondancer. I know you're trying to help, and I appreciate it. I just...I don't want Mother and Father to worry about me anymore," I told him.

He looked back at the field with his soft look. "I see. That's perfectly understandable. To be honest, I've been through some similar hardships as well, and it can be sad not being around people who love you and care for you. I used to be a bit of a brat back then, and my decision to go on this journey was, in fact, very selfish on my part. I feared that I wouldn't accomplish anything at Floccesy Ranch. I was so focused on getting out of the ranch that I didn't consider that I would be leaving behind the only family who ever loved me. But perhaps...maybe one can still live a good life without needing to feel like they need to do something big. I've been thinking a lot about that lately, and you're right. It feels much better to be loved and accepted than hated and discriminated against. Anyway...do you plan on taking Alseides with you?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm not sure if he still thinks he only lives for fighting or not. He said he threw away his name and memories of Floccesy Ranch, though I think that the man who took him made him forget by beating him up all the time. As much as I want him to come with me, I don't want to force him to do something he doesn't want to. Besides, the people are kind here. Perhaps, if he stays here, he can get the help he really needs. The Audino say he's too weak to battle and needs a lot of help recovering, so I don't want to put him through any more hardship."

"Good point," Moondancer said quietly but kindly. "You've truly grown up, little sister."

"Have I really? I don't know if I have or not," I told him. "But even so, I still wish I'd have been able to help Vapor when he needed me."

"Not everyone gets an easy life, Sylvia. Alseides and Vapor are good examples of that, even though they didn't choose the lives that have been heaped upon them," Moondancer said. "Sylvia...would you like to battle me?"

"What?!" I yelped, shocked with Moondancer's question. "You want us to battle? Here?"

He suddenly went into a battle stance. "Yes. You may have grown up, but I want to see if you've gotten stronger since we were young. Let's put what we've learned on our journeys to the test!"

He had a good point. I've learned a lot on my journey, and I was sure Moondancer did too. But Moondancer went on his journey willingly. I didn't have a choice in the matter. I was forcibly removed from my home. Moondancer wanted to get stronger. I wanted to get back to Floccesy Ranch. I hesitated in regards to battling him because I really didn't want to hurt him. Having gone through what illegal fighting was like, I was afraid I'd end up hurting Moondancer like Alseides hurt me, but then I remembered what Audino said to me about battles being the simplest way for Pokemon to communicate. I had to admit, I've been through my share of battles, and I had a very hard time believing that. But perhaps...maybe battling Moondancer could help me prove that to be true.

"Alright. I'll battle you, big brother," I told him. This wasn't a pretend battle that we used to do when we were Eevee. This would be the real deal. Moondancer could see that I understood.

"Good. There's an empty field over there. We'll battle there so we don't disturb anyone," Moondancer said as he pointed to the field that was about twenty feet away from the Pokemon Center.

Once we got there, we both stood on the field, far away from each other, staring at each other as a fresh breeze swept right by us, brushing against Moondancer's ears and tail and making my flowy protrusions flow and sway. There were a bunch of big rocks surrounding us, so if we were to battle, we could use them to our advantage. After about a few minutes, Moondancer jumped and sped right toward me, moving very fast. I wondered if I'd be able to dodge it, but once he got close, I jumped out of the way just in time. As soon as I was in the air, I unleashed Trump Card on him. It looked like it hit, as a cloud of grey smoke puffed up around him, but as it turned out, he leaped out of the way, just like how I evaded his Tackle.

"Shadow Ball!" Moondancer opened his mouth and allowed an ominous black and purple ball of light to appear. Then he unleashed it, though again, I somehow managed to evade it. But after that, neither of us unleashed an attack.

"Your journey has taught you well, Sylvia. I can see you have gotten quite strong. You're definitely not the little runt we used to pick on anymore," Moondancer said.

"You've gotten strong, too, Moonie!" I told him. Even though he doesn't like the nickname Moonie, I couldn't resist the urge to call him that.

"However, this battle has only just started, and I won't go easy on you! Swift!" Moondancer howled as he leaped into the air, did a little flip, and made a shower of yellow stars appear, heading right toward me. I decided to use Swift as well. Both of our attacks collided, making another cloud of grey smoke. As the smoke dissipated on my end, I could see a pair of glowing red eyes amidst the smoke on Moondancer's end of the field, and they definitely belonged to him.

He was definitely not going to go easy on me, not that I expected him to.

"Quick Attack!" A white light enveloped me and I managed to knock Moondancer against the grass. But as soon as he fell on the grass, he got right back up.

"Psychic!" Moondancer's eyes glowed red, and I found myself surrounded by a pale blue light while getting lifted into the air. Then, I felt like I was thrown against one of the rocks. It hurt, but I wasn't going to give up.

"Swift!" I saw an opening and decided to use Swift on him, shooting spinning yellow stars at him. But he used Psychic on them and made them turn around and hit me. I really wanted to use Moonblast, but I can only use it at night.

"Sylvia! You mustn't get cocky during a battle. It'll cloud your judgment and leave you open for attacks," Moondancer exclaimed as he unleashed another Shadow Ball, but I leaped on some rocks to get away from the other ones he shot at me. But then I had an idea. I leaped into some trees and used Trump Card on all of them, causing all the leaves to pile into the sky in huge drifts, using them as camouflage as I leaped from tree to tree. Then, once Moondancer was confused, I used Trump Card on him, managing to land some hits. Despite being slightly weakened by my attack, he got back on his feet.

"Good job, Sylvia! You're using your surroundings to your advantage," Moondancer complimented my strategy, but even though I felt happy that he complimented me, especially after being separated from him for so long, I knew that if I faltered or let my guard down, I'd lose this battle, and I really wanted to show Moondancer what I was really made of. I used Quick Attack on him again, and this time, I made him hit one of the rocks so hard that it broke. Not wanting to get cocky, like he said, I ran over and used Bite on him. I made sure to bite him someplace where it wouldn't hurt so much, which was the top of his back. He didn't even make any noise as I bit him. He did, however, use Psychic on me and threw me against another rock.

"It's good that you're looking for openings and not stopping to let down your guard," Moondancer said.

No. I wasn't going to stop. At all.

"Trump Card!" I used Trump Card again, but he used Psychic on them and threw them back at me. I used Swift to make them disappear, and another cloud of smoke appeared. I wasn't going to let Moondancer beat me, so I ran into the smoke and rammed into him with Quick Attack, not giving him time to use Psychic or Shadow Ball.

But he did, however, have one more trick up his sleeve. When the smoke disappeared, Moondancer's eyes glowed in an eerie and ominous black and purple light, just like his Shadow Ball attack.

"Dark Pulse!" Multiple black and purple rings appeared from his mouth, hitting me and causing me to fall on the dirt. Soon, he put his paw on my shoulder, pinning me down. He sure didn't show any mercy, not that I expected him too. But I didn't want him to think I was weak, even though he was my brother. I really wanted to use Moonblast, but I thought I could only use it at night.

But then I saw the moon.

In a bright blue sky.

It hadn't completely disappeared yet.

If it wasn't gone yet, then that meant...

I could.

And I would.

"Moonblast!" With all the energy I had left in me, I took a plunge and unleashed Moonblast. Moondancer sure didn't see this coming, as it came by such surprise that he didn't even have time to use Psychic or evade it. The attack sent him flying right into one of the trees. He fell off and branch and plopped right onto the grass like a limp towel.

"Oh no!" I thought I had gone too far with my attack and ran over to check if he was okay. "I'm so sorry, big brother! Are you okay?!"

"You should never show pity to an opponent. It's insulting," Moondancer mused as he stood back up. He looked very dirty and he had some injuries on him that I caused, but he didn't seem fatally hurt like Alseides was. He licked some dirt off of his arms and looked at me. "Anyway...good job, Sylvia. You win this battle."

"WHAT?! I...I won?!" I yelped, surprised by the outcome. I never expected to win anything, even though the training that Dr. Urbschat, Dr. Mingues, and the other scientists gave me at that science lab did help in making me stronger. But...I won? Against my big brother, who was likely to be stronger than me? Who's been on his journey longer than I have? I thought my win was a little too convenient.

"I'm so proud of you, little sister. You've overcome a great, many hardships, yet you've never lost sight of what's important, and you're still the sweet, kind little Eevee we used to know and love. I'm sure you'll be a great Pokemon. Personally, I'd honestly love to escort you back to Floccesy Ranch on my own, as I'd like to protect for, but three reasons keep me from doing so. One: I forgot how to go back. Two: You've clearly shown me how strong you are, and three: I shouldn't pretend to be your bodyguard and treat you like a broken Pokemon. I want to respect your decision and believe in the strength you have shown me," Moondancer said.

He didn't know it, but I secretly wanted to ask him to come with me. It had been so long since we last saw each other, and he didn't have any particular places to go, so there was no holding him back. We could overcome our hardships together and go back home together, even if we forgot where it was. I didn't care if he forgot! I wanted him to stay with me! But he had some good points. He said I wasn't the weak little runt they used to pick on anymore, and I didn't want to detract him from his own personal journey. He's walking down his own path. I'm walking down my own. He clearly said he doesn't want to go back to Floccesy Ranch, even though he showed he's different than he was when he left the ranch. I didn't want to be a weak little Pokemon who needed protecting, and he knew this.

"Thanks, Moondancer. I really missed you. But...I'll get stronger and find my own path in life. I don't want to stop you from getting stronger," I told him gratefully.

"Me too. I have no particular destination to go, so maybe I'll secretly follow you and watch over you, just to make sure you're okay. You may be stronger than you were when we were Eevee, but you're still my little sister. I promise I won't let anything happen to you, no matter how far apart we are," Moondancer told me in a soft voice, with a tender smile as he gently stroke one of my ears.

After that, Moondancer stayed at the Pokemon Center to get better, while I left. We went our separate ways once again. But unlike when he left Floccesy Ranch, I didn't cry or bawl or feel sad this time. Some way or another, Moondancer would always watch over me, whether it's under the bright, yellow sun or hiding in the deep, dark shadows of the night. I resolved to get stronger and still be myself, the little Eevee he and the others loved so much.

Author's Note: For those of you who read my Digimon fan fic, Digimon: A Seraphic Tale, I have an announcement. It'll be on hiatus for a while. But not permanently! Just for two reasons! One: I think I have a bit of writer's block on it. Two: I have more inspiration for Sylvia The Sylveon than for DST now, and there's five more chapters of this to write, so I wanna try and finish this before summer ends, maybe to pull me out of my block for DST. Please continue enjoying them both!


	10. More Traveling and Separation

Chapter 10: More Traveling and Separation

After I left Moondancer and Alseides behind, I traveled for about a week and wound up in this beautiful place called Undella town. It's completely on top of white sand and it's right near the ocean, which is so wide and so vast that it literally touched the sky. Plus, it was very warm and nice there. I wound up staying there for quite a while. I even got to play with some Pokemon, both wild and trained. I thought Undella Town would be the perfect place to stay and train for a while. I did, however, manage to ask many Pokemon about where Floccesy Ranch was. Unfortunately, none of them knew that it even existed. Some answered me kindly while others just wanted to be left alone, often telling me very cruelly that they didn't want me in their sight just because I was in their way. Not wanting to cause any more trouble, I kept a low profile, mostly because I didn't want any humans to catch me, though I did find time to play in the water and try to teach myself how to swim. Some water Pokemon, like Chinchou and Remoraid, helped me out. But there was no way I could possibly swim to Floccesy Ranch.

I wound up staying at Undella Town and the area around it for quite a few months until I decided it was time to get going. I figured I'd stayed in Undella Town long enough, and none of the Pokemon there knew where Floccesy Ranch was, so there was no point in staying there anymore, so I left. I did try to keep a low profile as I traveled, but some Pokemon saw me and even tried to attack me, like these bird Pokemon called Swellow and these moon and sun shaped Pokemon called Lunatone and Solrock. They said I was an intruder who trespassed on their territory even though I was going to leave anyway. Even though I told them I wasn't trying to take their home away, they still pecked at me and attacked me anyway, not even bothering to listen to me. I'd gotten used to it, since Gator felt the same way when I left Danali's place back in the desert.

Once I managed to outrun them, I saw two Pokemon in the distance who I didn't recognize at first, but did as soon as I got closer to them. One Pokemon was a Stoutland, the other a Charmeleon. I had only met one Stoutland and one Charmeleon in my whole entire life, and there was no way I'd mistake them for other Pokemon, even though I had hoped I'd never run into the Charmeleon ever again. Despite this, I was determined to at least say hi to the Stoutland, as he was nice, and I hadn't seen him since the fire in Icirrus City. Once I was within their vicinity, I called out to them.

"Nicodemus! Dilandau!" I called out enthusiastically as I ran to them. Nicodemus was the first to turn his head and lock his eyes on me. With a bright gleam in his eyes, he hopped right over to me and enveloped me in a soft, fluffy embrace.

"Sylvia, my dear! It's so good to see you again!" Nicodemus exclaimed happily as he hugged me tight.

"Hey! Let that pansy go, Nicodemus!" Dilandau yelled but neither of us paid him any heed.

"Nico...I didn't think I'd see you again!" I told him happily as he set me down.

"I wondered what had happened to you since that awful fire, but I can clearly see you're doing quite well, Sylvie," Nicodemus told me kindly. I smiled sweetly at him until Dilandau approached us with his clawed arms crossed and donning a very condescending and choleric expression on his red face.

"Well, look who's back! Get out of here, you weak little pansy! Or do you really want to be burned by my all powerful Fire Spin attack? You sure are desperate!" Dilandau sneered condescendingly.

"Dilandau! That is no way to talk to a friend! You'd best apologize this instant, young man!" Nicodemus scolded. I wasn't too surprised that Nicodemus referred to me as his friend, but I had to wonder if he expected Dilandau to think of me as a friend or for me to think of him as a friend, which I didn't want.

"Why should I? This thing's a pink, frilly looking weakling! All it's going to do is get in the way!" Dilandau argued back. Not wanting to let this go on, I changed the subject to something I had been meaning to ask ever since I saw them.

"Where's Hikaru?" I asked.

The two of them stopped talking after that. Dilandau looked away with a grunt while Nicodemus looked down at the grass, looking very dejected and rueful. "Hikaru...she ran away after she and Dilandau had a battle. We have no idea where she went off to. I can only pray that she's doing well and not caught by a cruel human."

"Pfft! That stupid piece of yellow junk deserved it! It's her own fault for making an enemy out of me!" Dilandau sneered again. I looked down sadly. So Hikaru's gone...I had hoped to see her with Nicodemus and Dilandau, but then again, she and Dilandau were always at odds because of their starkly contrasting outlooks on life, and Hikaru never did like him. I could understand her running away because she was framed for his crime. But still...I wished Dilandau wouldn't insult her like that, or everyone else for that matter. I was admittedly still angry with him for the forest fire he caused in Mistralton City, and the casualties he caused at Chargestone Cave.

"So, are you still on your journey back home, Sylvia?" Nicodemus asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"If you'd like, you can come with us, though I can understand if you don't want to, considering..."

"What?! No! Get her outta here, Nicodemus! She's just gonna get in the way! She's not worth it!" Dilandau yelled angrily at Nicodemus's suggestion to have me keep them company. To be honest, I wanted to decline, as he was the reason I didn't want to go. I didn't want to rouse his anger any more. But I liked Nicodemus, and I at least wanted to be friends with him, despite Dilandau's very ardent protests, so I nodded.

"Sure. I'd love to go with you," I told him. Dilandau facepalmed.

Then, as we walked together, I found out the true reason why Nicodemus wanted me to come with him. When we got to this one place, it was really really foggy. The fog was so thick and grey and puffy, we couldn't see anything ahead of us, and the flame on Dilandau's tail was no help in making things better. He suggested that we both hop on his back so we wouldn't get lost, and that worked. Not only that, we wound up getting attacked by many wild Pokemon, like a blue duck Pokemon named Golduck, a big purple balloon Pokemon with a yellow X on its mouth named Drifblim, a pale reddish brown alien thing called Beeheeyem, and a blue bird with big clouds for wings named Altaria. I assumed Nicodemus figured this area was full of wild Pokemon, and he thought I wouldn't stand a chance against them, so he, Dilandau, and I managed to hold them off with our attacks as much as possible so we'd at least get through. We did.

Once we got past them, the fog managed to dissipate and walking proved to be easier, but it still wasn't very pleasant. Why? Because all throughout that time, Dilandau kept on harassing me and picking on me. He'd poke me everywhere on my body with his claws, he'd throw a bunch of insults at me, he'd try to bite me every chance he'd get, he'd try to set me on fire with his tail flame, and worst of all, he even pushed me off Nicodemus a few times. Nicodemus always scolded him severely when he did all of these things, but Dilandau didn't listen one bit and just kept on doing them. Nicodemus shook his head sadly, like there really was no hope for Dilandau to ever be a good Pokemon. I could tell the poor, furry Stoutland was really at his wit's end. Dilandau sure didn't stop harassing me or saying mean things to me about anything and everything I did, even so much as calling Nicodemus by his nickname, Nico.

"Get off Nicodemus, you pansy! You're contaminating him with your stupid retard germs!"

"Stop calling him Nico! It's Nicodemus! NI-CO-DE-MUS! Do you hear me, you pink piece of spineless junk?!"

"You're worthless! Don't think you're so strong! You're just a pathetic little weakling who thinks she's all that!"

"You're not worthy of Nicodemus's love! Nobody gets it but me! Do you understand?! Clearly you don't, 'cause you're so stupid!"

"Don't even dare try to take Nicodemus away from me, because I'll burn you to a crisp if you do!"

"If you ever do anything to Nicodemus, you'll be nothing but a black, charred corpse!"

"Why does a frilly pink thing like you exist? You're not worth even my valuable time! You oughta get killed by a rampaging Gyarados or something!"

"I bet your parents disowned you because you were so weak and stupid!"

I ignored him as best I could, but all of his insults really hurt me inside. He doesn't know anything about my parents and my siblings, and they loved me! Well, Vapor and Alseides stopped doing so, but that's because they got caught in bad circumstances that they couldn't get out of no matter how much they tried. Mother and Father didn't disown me. Some bad people caught me, and I was sure they were worried sick about me. I mean, I could understand why he's acting all tough. Nicodemus said he lost his family and was experimented on. I could understand him feeling inferior to the humans who experimented on him, and I would be too, but he didn't have to pick on other Pokemon or even kill them to make himself feel superior or have some control. Really, he should have shown some restraint.

Restraint and control were NOT things Dilandau was good at, nor did he choose to be good at either. All throughout the time we traveled together, Dilandau either boasted about how cool he was and derided me just for being around or would go off and set whatever he saw on fire with his Flamethrower, which was pretty much everything, especially me. Dilandau would always try to roast me with Flamethrower at every turn, even while Nicodemus was watching! I was shocked at Dilandau's sheer audacity and complete lack of restraint or dignity. Nicodemus did try to stop him, that I understood, but even he couldn't restrain the rogue and volatile Charmeleon all the time. There was only so much he could do. I helped, but Dilandau only got more vicious when I tried to intervene, though I did try not to let his machinations and inappropriate behavior get the better of me. When my brothers would misbehave, Father would always keep his cool while scolding them, only getting really angry when necessary. Darien and Vicky, too. Not only that, whenever Serena would throw a tantrum or start screaming because something was out of place or she didn't want to wear other clothes or didn't want to eat something she didn't like, Darien and Vicky were always very patient and composed when dealing with her. Not once did they yell at her. They were firm with her, but they remained gentle, calm, and collected. I had to wonder if Serena's disability played a part in their being able to handle her so well.

We wound up putting up with each other for months. I started to regret turning down Moondancer's offer to go with him. At least then I wouldn't have had to put up with Dilandau and his homicidal mischief! But something compelled me to stay with Nicodemus and Dilandau, bad and ill-tempered as the latter was. Finally, we found an empty cave to stay in for one night, and Nicodemus forced Dilandau to sleep with his Yawn attack. I went out to grab some wood. Some of it was a little heavy, but I managed to carry it all with the help of my flowing protrusions. They sure helped. When I came back, I took one small stick, put it on Dilandau's tail flame, lit it up, and carried it back to the wood pile, which soon erupted into a small flame, bigger than his tail flame. Nicodemus and I sat down in front of the fire, watching the blaze cackle and dance wildly yet elegantly.

"You regret traveling with us, don't you?" Nicodemus suddenly asked out of the blue, which startled me.

"Huh? Uh...no, I don't," I stammered shyly.

"There's no need to deny it, Sylvia. I know you don't like Dilandau. I can understand that completely and have no desire to force you two to get along. There's no hope for him in that department anyway."

"I know."

"Exactly...why did you leave after the fire?"

"I saw a Jolteon and thought he was one of my brothers. I went to check, and he was. He was my brother Vapor, who said he wanted to be a Vaporeon, but a trainer captured him and evolved him into a Jolteon against his will. Because of that and the abuse that Jason guy makes him go through, he's become very bitter and angry. I tried to make him come back with me, but he said there was no saving him. He made me angry and I...I wound up leaving him there," The tears started coming, even though I tried to hold them back. "I know I should respect his decision to stay, but...he deserves to be happy, not sad and angry!"

"I see. You were worried about your brother. It is only natural for us to want to save someone from their suffering, but there are those whose damage is so deep, so permanent, so profound, and so complete, that the scars on their hearts will never heal. We Pokemon are both loved by humans and hurt by humans. We are subject to their selfishness and ignorance. Dilandau is but one example of a Pokemon who has been completely damaged by human curiosity and selfishness."

"I don't blame him for that. He didn't want to get caught and experimented on, did he?"

Nicodemus grimly shook his head. "No. None of us did. I'm sure you didn't want to be forced to evolve into some unfamiliar creature."

I stroke one of my flowing protrusions gently as he said this. "Yeah. It'd be one thing if I evolved into something I didn't like, but I like my new evolution, and many of my siblings say it suits me, so it's okay with me."

"You are lucky they didn't do worse things to you, otherwise you'd probably be just like Dilandau."

I didn't want to even think about being like Dilandau. I refused to let those evil thoughts cross my mind. But something did cross my mind, and I'd been meaning to ask ever since our last conversation together two years ago. "You said Dilandau had a pathological fear of being alone. What does pathological mean?"

"When someone has a pathological fear, it means it's a fear that they can never overcome or recover from, no matter what kind of help they receive or how much."

"Oh."

"Sylvia...what do you plan to do when you reach your home?"

"I kind of want to tell my parents and whoever's left back there that I'm alright so they won't have to worry anymore. After that, I'm gonna try and think about what I want to do after that. Do I want to live in the wild or should I be a Pokemon trainer's best friend? I know I want to help people and make them happy and let them know that I'm always there for them if they need me."

"That's a good goal to have. I wish you good luck in your endeavors."

"My sister Lucretia said she wishes me Godspeed, which means good luck in my endeavors!"

"Godspeed? That's a strange saying if I ever heard one."

"I know, right? But I like it. It sounds funny!"

Nicodemus cracked a smile underneath those huge amounts of fur covering his face. I could see that he looked quite lively and content with that smile on his big, fluffy, furry face. He then looked at the scenery outside of the cave, just past the fire.

"You remind me of my youngest daughter, Genie," Nicodemus mused kindly, out of the blue.

"I do? What's she like?"

"She was a lot like you. Sweet, kind, gentle, innocent, and always wanting to do her own thing."

"That sounds more like Lucretia or Yuki than me."

"Actually, I see a lot of Genie in you."

"Is she still around? I'd like to meet her," I asked innocently. But as soon as I did, Nicodemus's face became hidden behind his huge tufts of fur and it looked dejected. Then I remembered him telling me that since his family lived in a very impoverished area where food was basically a gold mine to never be found, he assumed his wife and children all died from starvation after he got caught stealing food. How could I have been so insensitive to ask him about his children when I already knew what had happened? In a way, he was like Claudia, separated from his children, only in his case, his children probably died. Claudia talked about her children as though they were alive when she was captured. She doesn't know if they're still alive or not, and I don't know if she ever got to be free from the people who caught us so many years ago. I hoped that she did.

I lowered my head down dejectedly just like he did. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." I wound up letting the sentence drift away.

"It's alright. It has been a long time since we last met, so it's understandable that you'd forget," Nicodemus replied softly.

I couldn't help but think about his situation some more. He had no home, no family left, no kind trainer to raise him, nothing left except for a psychotic, deranged, homicidal, fire-breathing Charmeleon who knows absolutely nothing of kindness, restraint, or self-control and who is just as sad, broken, and profoundly damaged as he. I had it easy compared to them. My parents and siblings loved me, even though Moondancer left on his own to go on a journey to get stronger and Alseides supposedly took a turn for the worst before I got caught. Vicky, Darien, and their three children treated us well and raised us like their own. They probably didn't want us to get captured by other people. Darien stood up to Dr. Navarro when he first talked about taking one of us to use as one of their subjects. The only reason the scientists from Kalos captured me was so they could see if their research did confirm a Sylveon's existence and just wanted to see if what they found was true. All they really did was evolve me against my will, that was it. They treated me well the rest of the time, unlike the scientists who tortured Nicodemus and Dilandau for whatever stupid reason they thought of in their brains. I had to wonder if the scientists who captured me were the same ones who hurt Nicodemus and Dilandau, but I wasn't sure if that was true or not, and the only names I knew were Dr. Navarro, Dr. Urbschat, and Dr. Mingues. Even before all of that, Darien saved Father from a cruel trainer and, from what I heard, a very good friend was taken away from Vicky because of a terrible tragedy before we were born and Mother helped her to heal. I couldn't believe how different our lives and lifestyles could be.

Then again, it's not uncommon for people and Pokemon to be thrown into different circumstances. We can't control who catches us and what happens to us. Bolt got caught by a trainer. Alseides and I were kidnapped, but I was kidnapped so I could be used as a test subject for the new evolution while Alseides was going to be trained for illegal fighting. He had to endure a lot of abuse, as all the scars and gashes he had spoke for themselves. Vapor was not only caught by a mean trainer who wanted him to be a strong Pokemon and nothing else, he was deprived of his dream to be a Vaporeon like Father and was forced to be a Jolteon instead. Lucretia was adopted by a nice lady and was being treated well. I didn't know how Konoha, Yuki, Bambi, and the other Pokemon back at Floccesy Ranch were doing, and I had hoped they were either still at home or being treated well by some trainers. Isn't it funny how one Pokemon or person can have absolutely everything while someone else can have absolutely nothing and be miserable for the rest of their lives?

After that, Nicodemus, Dilandau, and I traveled for a long time. It felt like months had passed. We went through some towns, crossed some mountains, slept in caves, crossed vast plains, meadows, and glens, went through forests, foraged for food in any way possible, getting kicked out of various places by some humans just because we happened to be in the way, and fought some other Pokemon. All throughout that time, however, Dilandau never ceased his homicidal mischief. That made our journey even longer, as he continued to try to set whatever he saw on fire, and, like usual, he didn't give a flying Farfetch'd about whether his fun would hurt or even kill other people or Pokemon. Plus, he never missed an opportunity to bully me and deride me for basically anything and everything: my appearance, my occasional cowardice, my attacks, how weak I was, how wimpy I was, my high voice, my interacting with Nico, etc. Nicodemus did his best, I could tell as he always got upset or downright angry whenever Dilandau did something wrong, but nothing he did seemed to faze the fiery red lizard one bit. Even when we were being nice, he didn't let up. I did my best to ignore him, but most of his insults really hurt me, and whenever he was successful in pushing my buttons, I'd yell at him and even attack him, even though I didn't like it.

None of us were prepared for what would happen on one particularly cloudy night.

I didn't see the stars, as they were hidden away by the big, fluffy blanket that was the mean, grey, ominous clouds, so I thought I'd cheer myself up by singing that song.

"_Should I ever trip, how should I get right back up?_

_It's just a thought…I simply asked while absent minded…_

_There wasn't a single lie in my shattered past,_

_but will truth lie in the future I envision?_

_Everyone is born alone, and that is exactly why_

_we try to live together with others._

_I firmly hold the strength to live and its meaning_

_that you taught me deep in my heart._

_Let's start here so from now on_

_everything will one day bloom with a flower of hope._

_We come to learn what is truly important during painful times._

_They're our emotions we can't untie from…like a tangled necklace._

_We were always conscious about what happened around us…_

_But living true to-"_

I didn't even get to finish, as I suddenly felt a very strong blow to my head that seriously knocked me into the dirt. I tried to get up, as I saw that Dilandau was the culprit, but he pressed his foot onto the back of my head, attempting to bury my face in the muddy and soggy dirt. It felt horrible, and as much as I tried to get back up, he was too strong, and he laughed maliciously as he pressed my face against the filthy wet dirt.

"That'll teach you to think you're so arrogant! You're a filthy little piece of trash, you pansy! You're worthless! You deserve to burn at the stake!" Dilandau sneered. I had gotten used to his insults by now, but this time, I felt absolutely mortified. It felt horrible to be thrown into the dirt, getting muddy and having a bully laugh at me just for being around. I wanted to cry, but I knew that if I did, that would mean he won.

I wasn't going to let him win. My sadness and misery soon turn to anger.

Anger that turned into a Trump Card attack.

"I...have...had...ENOUGH!" I muttered quietly at first, but screamed at the top of my lungs, unleashing a powerful Trump Card attack that knocked him out instead. Once he was off his feet, I got up and tried to wipe the dirt off my face, even though I smeared it more across my face instead. My scream was so loud it woke Nicodemus up. As guilty as I was about that, I was too focused on finally telling Dilandau off to really care about that.

"Stop picking on me! What is it about me that you hate so much?! So what if I'm different from you?! That doesn't make it right for you to bully me constantly for months on end and think you're so much better than everyone else!" I screamed.

"I hate you! I hate you because you exist! I hate you because you're trying to take Nicodemus away from me!" Dilandau screamed as he tried to use a Slash on me, but I evaded it.

"No I'm not! That's the last thing I want!" I argued back, but as usual, he didn't listen to a word I said, nor did he ever have any intention of wanting to.

"Liar! You're a liar! You're trying to take away the one thing I hold dear! You will BUUURN!" Dilandau howled angrily as he was about to attack me with a Flamethrower until Nicodemus hopped onto him like he did two years ago.

"Nico!" I yelped.

"Dilandau! This must stop! Sylvia is not a bad Pokemon! You need to stop picking on her! She has done nothing wrong!" Nicodemus pleaded angrily. I swear I heard some sadness in his voice as well, like he was losing all hope of ever being able to get through to him. I had to wonder how he was able to not get burned by Dilandau's tail flame.

"Don't fall for her schemes, Nicodemus! She's just the same as every other lowly Pokemon and human who deserves to burn at my beautiful flames!" Dilandau howled angrily, appalled and disgusted by Nicodemus's ardent belief in me. Then he locked eyes on me. "I should have killed you when I have the chance!"

Once he got angry enough, he managed to successfully break out of Nicodemus's hold, and he had a very bloodthirsty and elated expression on his face which made it look like it was the first time he had ever accomplished that.

"Dilandau! NO!" Nicodemus yelled as he tried to go after Dilandau.

"You're gonna...DIE!" Dilandau howled as he tried to use Slash on me, but I managed to use my front paws to stop him from scratching me.

"Get off me!" I yelled.

"I hate you! I freaking hate you! I hate your guts!" Dilandau howled as he did everything in his power to draw some blood from me in the most violent way he could think of.

He would soon be deprived of that chance, but in a way none of us ever expected at all.

_BANG!_

A loud sound stopped our fight from getting out of hand, but what scared me was that whatever it was that made the sound, it made a charred black mark appear right next to my paw. Then I saw something next to it. A little piece of gold in an odd shape. The top part of it looked sharp, even though it wasn't, and the bottom part of it was completely flat. I was confused as to where it came from until I saw a person wearing green and brown with a black rifle in his hand.

I had seen enough pieces of movies with Darien to know what a rifle was and what it was used for.

"LOOK OUT!" I screamed as I valiantly pushed Dilandau out of the rifle's way, right as the man tried to shoot us again.

"Run, you two! Run!" Nicodemus yelled once he glanced at the man despite it being so dark. As ordered, Dilandau and I ran away from the man as he followed suit. But what was even more unsettling was that there were more of them.

"They just ran over there! Try and surround them!"

"Yessir! Come on, men! Don't let those gold mines get away!"

"We're losin' them! It's too dark!"

"Quit makin' excuses, you bum!"

Even Dilandau didn't seem to have any interest in fighting them or engulfing them with his Flamethrower like he usually would. I had to wonder if maybe he had bad experiences with those kinds of men before and was scared to the point of realizing that this was a fight he knew he couldn't win no matter what. Nicodemus followed us in hot pursuit, staying behind so we could go on ahead.

"They're poachers, Sylvia!" Nicodemus barked.

"Poachers? What are those?" I asked, confused by the new word I learned.

"Poachers are people who sell, transport, use, and kill Pokemon or other creatures without legal authorization. Most of them kill Pokemon in order to sell things like our fur, teeth, bones, or other body parts to dealers so they can make things like clothes, jewelry, furniture, or other items," Nicodemus explained.

Even though we were running, I felt like throwing up once I heard Nicodemus explain what poachers were. To think I thought Theseus McCoy was awful! Poachers kill Pokemon just so they can use their body parts to make stuff? I wanted to disappear or teleport like a psychic Pokemon would so I could avoid that cruel fate. Even Dilandau seemed to agree that this practice seemed awful.

And yet...we were being chased by poachers!

"I will NOT be someone's furniture! I WILL SURVIVE!" Dilandau howled as he stopped in the middle of the forest to unleash a Flamethrower on one of the men, who held up some kind of big metal shield to keep himself from getting burned. Soon, five men surrounded us amidst the trees, pointing their guns at us. One man proceeded to put his gun down and pull out a big net.

"Dilandau. Sylvia. On my signal, I want you both to run away. Run as fast as you can and never come back," Nicodemus whispered.

"What?! And leave you here?! No! I can't do that!" I cried, appalled by his suggestion, mostly because of what it would entail, if what I heard him imply was true.

"I'm NOT leaving you here, Nicodemus! You'll die if you stay here!" Dilandau yelled. I could understand why he wouldn't want to leave Nicodemus at the mercy of these poachers. Dilandau's family died too, and Nicodemus was all he had. If he lost Nicodemus, the only Pokemon who bothered to take care of him like his own despite the cruel way he's treated him over God knows how long, his already fragile mental state would be forever broken to the point of never getting healed. I swear I managed to hear genuine worry and sadness in his still weirdly high pitched voice. Perhaps he was capable of feeling sadness and loneliness after all.

"I mean it, you two. On my signal, run as far away as you can so you don't get caught. You've both been through enough agony in your lives," Nicodemus whispered grimly. Once the guy tried to throw the net, sparkling yellow jolts of lightning appeared on Nicodemus's mouth as he let out a bark, grabbed the net with his teeth and turned it into a piece of rubble, catching the poachers by surprise.

"RUN! NOW!" Nicodemus yelled at the top of his voice.

I got reminded of Claudia all over again, how she tried to escape with me but got re-captured just so I could escape from Kalos or wherever those scientists planned to take us. I wasn't sure if she survived or died, but I had hoped that she did survive because I didn't think the scientists who caught us would be so stupid as to kill her. Not only that, I wished Hikaru were here at that moment. She'd never go down without a fight, and she'd fight them off so we all could escape. I knew she would do so for me. I wanted to stay and help him. I really did. But those poachers looked like they could outdo us in strength, and it didn't look like we three could possibly win, even with our combined powers. They had us outnumbered, and they probably had lots of items and other technology that could easily render our powers useless if we got caught by them. I had already lost Katie, Vapor, and Hikaru and only barely managed to save Alseides from a cruel fate. I didn't want to lose Nicodemus, and I was sure Dilandau didn't want to either. But this was a battle we couldn't win, and I didn't want Nicodemus to be angry with me.

I made my decision.

"Goodbye, Nicodemus!" I screamed and I ran away. I didn't look to see if Dilandau ran or not, and if he did, I didn't check to see which direction he went into, not that I cared. I got tired of putting up with him anyway.

I knew it was a fight we couldn't win. I knew I could never come back. If I did, we three would be sitting Duckletts, and I wasn't sure how strong I was, even though Moondancer said I was strong. I began to wonder if he was wrong. I felt disgusted by my cowardice and idiocy. Just like with Claudia, a torrent of guilt swept over me as I ran like the wind. If only I wasn't so weak! If only I was stronger, I'd be able to save all of them! But...I had to accept that it was very likely that we'd all lose.

I figured it would be the last time I ever saw Nicodemus.

It'd take two years and a few months to find out that I was right.

I managed to run as fast as I could, outrunning the poachers. I never saw those men again after that, but I was all alone again. Moondancer said he'd be watching over me, but I wasn't sure if he was around. Not wanting to stay in one place, I continued to walk onward again. Even though my destination was Floccesy Ranch, I didn't know which direction it was in. I didn't know where it was, so I began to wonder if I had been going around in circles the entire time. I began to wonder if I would ever get back home to Mother and Father, to Vicky and Darien, to Bambi, Serena, and whichever siblings are left at those beautiful lavender colored fields. I don't remember how far I traveled or how long it was, probably a couple months. But I was pretty much a feral Pokemon by this point. I foraged for food in forests, trash cans, and I even stole some because I was so hungry. A man beat me with a newspaper after he caught me trying to take a piece of meat. He showed absolutely no sympathy, and I overheard him say that a lot of Pokemon had been stealing his food. I guess he had his reasons. He did have a business to run, after all. Perhaps he was getting tired of all the Pokemon stealing his food and ruining his business. I didn't blame him.

After many beatings from strangers and attacks from ferocious Pokemon, I decided it wasn't worth it to keep stealing food anymore, so I decided to try and go on without any for as far as I could travel. Unfortunately, that proved to be a problem. I wasn't sure where I was, but I found myself in a vast meadow, with only a few big rocks and a couple trees in it. I saw a forest up ahead, so I ambled on. My stomach growled, churned, and cried for food, though I persisted on and kept on telling it to be quiet so I could at least find someplace to sleep without invading another Pokemon's territory. However, my eyesight began to blur, the energy leaked out of my body like a plug had been yanked out, and my legs began to feel like lumpy plum pudding. I found myself collapsed on the grass, unable to go on. I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I did see a blur approach me as I almost lost consciousness. It looked like a human, with a white shirt with long sleeves, long beige khaki pants, a round, black necklace, and a huge, puffy cloud of very light green hair, like the color of cabbage, streaming behind him. I thought I saw a black hat on him, but I couldn't tell. I did feel myself getting lifted by his strong arms, and I felt warm when I felt myself rubbing against his chest.

"Poor thing. You look like you haven't had the best of days. Don't worry. I'll take care of you, little one," The man said in what happened to be the nicest voice I ever heard. It was low, but soft and soothing. It had a very kind and gentle melody to it. In a way, he sounded a lot like Moondancer. His voice was like that, but this voice belonged to a human, so I knew it wasn't my brother. I heard my stomach growl, then a sweet natured laugh.

"You're hungry. That must be it," He said kindly.

But that was the last I heard of him. After that, I fell asleep.

That'd be the last time I saw the man. But this encounter would also lead into another one, one that I thought I would ever ever experience.


End file.
